Smoke and Mirrors
by Bamolition
Summary: Fierce Felicity Black embarks on her fifth year at Hogwarts with every intention of wreaking havoc on Flich with her friends and acing her OWLs, but with dementors on the loose and the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher appearing in her dreams, Felicity's year becomes more hectic than even she can handle.
1. A Black Legacy

The cool autumn air breezes through the door of the Leaky Cauldron, disturbing the already haphazardly stacked newspapers on the counter of the bar. A windswept pair steps in, closing the door and ending the rustling disturbance of the papers. None of the patrons acknowledge the pair, though many scowl into their drinks at the intrusion of cold air.

Flo, reassured by the lack of interest in her arrival, straightens her back as she and her uncle approach old Tom at the bar. Tom's eyes flash down at Flo for a moment before focusing in on Balthazar. Flo's own eyes narrow, giving the tender a cold stare, daring the old man to acknowledge her again. A sharp elbow from Balthazar softens Flo's gaze into a quiet smirk.

"Just one room, thanks, Tom. I'm just dropping this one off," Balthazar smiles at Tom, who pulls out a room key and takes the offered coins from Balthazar. A commotion from the back draws Flo's attention, and the gentle scowl she's sporting quickly morphs into a wide grin as she recognizes the distinct sound of Molly Weasley's harrowing voice.

Not bothering to wait for her uncle, Flo races into the back kitchen, where, sure enough, Mrs Weasley is lecturing two shaggy-haired boys that Flo recognises instantly. She waits for a few moments before Mrs Weasley notices her, her frown breaking into a wide smile.

"Felicity!" She exclaims. Fred and George spin around at their mother's announcement, immediately rushing over to scoop Flo into a big hug.

"Flo!" They shout. Flo laughs, squeezing her friends back tightly before they're pried off her by Mrs Weasley, who grips Flo in a vice-like hug, rubbbing her back once before stepping back herself, a sympathising expression on her face. Flo notices, and has to reign in her sneer. In the recent weeks since Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban, everywhere she goes, Flo finds herself facing people's opinions, so far, most have been filled with pity for her, though a few suddenly cautious of her presence, as though she might pull Sirius Black out from underneath her sweatshirt.

"Hullo," Flo smiles tightly at the three Weasley's in front of her, feeling her burst of irritation ebbing as she takes in the happy grins of Fred and George.

"Guys! Flo's here!" Ginny calls, appearing at the top of the stairs. Flo grins, meeting Ginny at the base of the stairs for a hug. Ginny's appearance is quickly followed by Ron and Hermione, and lastly, a dishevelled Harry Potter, who looks as though he's only just crawled out of bed. The three chorus their greetings, though Ron seems to hesitate before coming down into the kitchen to greet them.

While the group catch up, Balthazar appears, greeting Mr Weasley with a clap on the shoulder and a firm handshake. Molly Weasley ushers the pair further away from the teenagers, glancing surreptitiously around the room.

"How is she, the poor dear?" Molly asks, glancing meaningfully over at the dark-haired girl. Balthazar and Arthur follows her gaze. Balthazar sighs, running a hand through his cropped hair.

"I honestly have no clue. She's said very little about the matter since we found out. Please, just be careful about what you say about him around her, you know how she can get sometimes," Balthazar warns Molly. The woman purses her lips and nods. "Oh and thank you so much for keeping an eye on her, I really would have preferred to stay but I'm needed back in Romania."

Molly shakes her head rapidly and pats Balthazar's shoulder. "Don't be silly, you do so much for Charlie over there, it's the least we can do," Molly replies, offering a warm smile to the younger man.

"I'll be sure to give him your love," Balthazar replies, returning his gaze to a cackling Flo. "I'd better go say goodbye."

Flo notices her uncle's approach and squeezes out from between the twins, jumping over the bench they'd occupied to talk with the others. She follows Balthazar upstairs, where he unlocks her room for her and drops her trunk inside. The pair stand in silence for a few moments.

"Uncle-"

"I -"

Flo smirks at her uncle, who motions to her. Flo takes a deep breath, puffing up her cheeks before releasing it. "I'll be okay, Balt," She says with a meaningful nod, fighting with the tightness in her throat to keep her voice steady. Balt sighs heavily and hugs his niece, lightly kissing the top of her head, feeling her lean into him.

"I love you, kiddo."

The following morning, Flo, Fred and George head off into Diagon Alley. The place is bustling with witches and wizards, and for the first time since Sirius Black's escape, Flo realises that there is no secret about who her father is. She can feel eyes and hear whispers of her last name. The Weasley twins notice as well, sharing a thoughtful glance between the two of them as they walk.

"So," Flo begins as they three sit down at Florean's ice cream parlour. "How was Egypt?"

Fred and George launch into a wild tale of their explorations in tombs, including trapping Percy in a sarcophagus. They, it seemed, were more interested in hearing of Flo's holiday, which she'd spent in Germany and Romania with her uncle.

"It was so cool, I got to help mind the hatchery, and Charlie showed me the Norwegian Ridgeback he's been raising," Flo grins, feeling the tension slowly leave her body. Flo leans back in chair and smirks at the twins' expectant expressions. They'd written only briefly over the holidays, to organise their meeting up and so that Flo could tell them she'd been badly burned in an accident with an angry fledgling.

"Come on then, show us the scar," Fred finally nags. Flo wastes no time in leaning forward and shrugging off the arm of her sweater to reveal the tendrils of shiny, pink skin wrapped around her elbow. George whistles lowly, reaching out to feel the smooth scar tissue.

"Blimey! That's wicked," Fred laughs and Flo smirks, humming in agreement.

"I'm going to look so badass," She laughs, scooping a big mouthful of ice cream into her mouth, staring proudly down at her scar. "My uncle freaked out though, he says next summer I'm not allowed to go with him," Flo sighs for affect, but the twins seem unfazed by this information.

"You can stay with us!" George announces with some glee.

"Dad'll probably get tickets to the world cup," Fred adds. Flo grins, but says nothing. The three make their way through the alley, stopping in to fawn over the firebolt on display in Quality Quidditch Supplies.

Two stores down, the display in the window of Flourish and Blotts is a large, ornate cage, filled with furry books. Flo looks on with wide eyes as two of the books begin to fight, clamping onto each other and ripping pages out. On the other side of the display, a frazzled looking clerk rushes over with a cane and pries the two books apart. Flo heads into the store and Fred and George disappear, having already bought their new school supplies. Checking her list, Flo finds all her required books easily, as the bookstore has set up the new school books in the front of the store. At the counter, the assistant stutters out her greeting at the sight of Flo. Though she'd seen pictures of her parents before, Flo never realised how similar she looks to her father until his face was plastered up on every wizarding street on the continent.

Unable to resist a spiteful sneer at the assistant, Flo collects her books and drops some galleons on the counter. On the street, Flo looks around, checking off her mental list of school supplies. Books, quills, ink and an extra-large stack of parchment were all taken care of at Flourish and Blotts. Flo heads up the lane to Madam Malkins. Instore, the walls are lined with racks of robes in every colour imaginable, and there are three little stools in the centre of the shop, upon which stand Fred, George and a red-faced Percy.

"Hey, Flo," The twins chorus as she enters the shop. Percy looks over at her as well, only his scowl deepens and he whips his head away. Flo smirks gently, at least some things never change, she thinks. Percy is dismissed by the seamstress, her enchanted measuring tape ushering him off the stool. He rushes out, brushing past Flo in his hurry. Madam Malkin approaches Flo and smiles broadly, only after sending a final bemused glance in the direction Percy went.

"What do you need, deary?" She asks, placing a hand on her back and guiding her further into the store.

"No robes for me, thanks. I just need a few school shirts," Flo informs Malkin, who nods, turning Flo to face her and holding her at arm's length, Malkin sizes her up with a calculating gaze. Humming, Madam Malkin turns at hurries over to a shelf with neatly folded white shirts. While she digs around, Flo turns her attention to the fidgeting twins.

"I'm going to get an owl," Flo announces.

"Nice," George compliments.

"Get a screech owl," Fred laughs, to which Flo rolls her eyes.

"Anyways, that's all I need to get, so I'll meet you guys back at the Leaky Cauldron for tea after?" Flo continues, noticing Madam Malkin has found what she's looking for.

"Deal," They chorus, and Flo collects her shirts, waving to the boys as she leaves the store.

In the pet store, a cacophony of noise greets Flo. She smiles, looking around at the cages filled with various owls. In a glass terrarium, at least half a dozen toads the size of Flo's thumb are relaxing on a rock, flashing different shades of green and yellow. Behind the counter, a familiar face is struggling with a dark grey owl. The girl looks up as Flo approaches and smiles in recognition.

"Hey, Flo!" The girl smiles, releasing the haughty owl and ducking as it swoops up towards a perch near the high ceiling. Flo's eyes follow the owl, before falling back to smile at the girl across the counter.

"Hey, Skye," Flo greets, leaning down to pat a ginger cat that brushes against her ankles. On the counter, a cage of shiny, black rats play jump rope with their long tails. Skye, the elder sister of Flo's best friend, retrieves a fat toad from under the counter and moves out to put it into a tank alongside another large toad of the same breed.

"What can I do for ya?" She asks, moving the empty bird cage out of the way on the counter so they can talk.

"I want an owl," Flo grins. Skye nods approvingly, ushering Flo over to the back corner where the wall is lined with cages filled with owls.

"These are all the owls we have at the moment, were you looking for anything in particular?" Skye asks, opening a cage and pulling out a slender tawny owl. Flo smiles, reaching out to pat it's sleek feathers. A loud squawk causes Flo to jump as the grey owl Skye had been arguing with early dives down, landing deftly on Flo's outstretched arm. The tawny owl recoils, fluttering its wings in disdain. Flo laughs, stroking the grey owl's soft feathers, admiring the white speckles along its wings.

"This is Aura. As you probably noticed, she has a problem with being told what to do. You have to ask her nicely to do something before she'll even consider it," Skye laughs. Flo barely hears her though, her eyes still glued to the sooty owl.

"I want her," Flo states in a tone that suggests she won't take no for an answer. Skye purses her lips, giving Flo a hesitant gaze.

"Are you sure? She refuses to get into a cage, and there's no guarantee she'll come back if you let her go," Skye says, an amount of trepidation in her voice. Flo shrugs though, unfazed by this information.

"Positive."

At Dinner that night, the mood is jovial. The teenagers are all looking forward to returning to Hogwarts in the morning. Fred and George are sitting either side Flo, tossing a piece of bread between each other until Flo catches it, using it to dip into her gravy.

"Sod off," She laughs, swatting away Fred's hand, only to have the piece taken by George on her other side. Down the table, Molly chastises the two.

"Leave the poor girl alone, Merlin knows she has enough on her plate right now without you two getting in the way," Molly lectures. The table quietens at the mention of Flo, and Mr Weasley hisses a warning to Molly, intensifying the silence. The smirk slides off Flo's face as she stares Mr and Mrs Weasley down, steely eyes piercing theirs.

"What, exactly, do I have on my plate?" Flo questions coldly. The table is deathly silent now, no one dare breathe through the tension.

"Oh, dear, I just mean -"

"You just mean that I must be worried sick about my father escaping from Azkaban. What, I wonder, would make me a worse person, wishing he gets caught or wishing they never find him again? Well, believe it or not, there is a third option; I don't care, that man may be my father but I don't know him. His fate is not my concern, nor are his intentions," Flo speaks quietly, but there is an edge to her words that makes Ginny recoil in her seat. Silence ensues her rant and Flo, who has lost her appetite, strides up the stairs, heading for her room.

The room is dark but Flo doesn't bother to light the lanterns. Instead, she lands face down on the quilt of her bed. More than anything, she wants to go back to Romania with Balt and Charlie, where no one even cares who she is, let alone who her father is. Minutes pass before Flo sits up to light up the room. Near the window, Aura is perched, watching Flo. She stares back, unable to help a smile at the sight of her speckled friend.

"At least you don't care," Flo sighs, going over and feeding her a treat. Aura twitters contentedly, allowing Flo to stroke her. To occupy her mind, Flo pulls out her new clothes and supplies, finding space in her trunk to pack them in. In among her things, Flo sees a charms book, given to her by Balt a few weeks ago in an attempt to encourage her to stay inside after her run in with the young Chinese Fireball. Though she'd ignored him in favour of watching eggs hatch, she'd worked through half of it in the evenings of quiet nights on the dragon reserve.

Fishing it out, Flo sits cross-legged on her bed and settles in to read. Some time later, when the Leaky Cauldron grows quiet in the late hours of the evening, someone taps on Flo's door. Having calmed down since her outburst at dinner, Flo cannot help but to feel a flash of guilt, guessing that whoever it is will be a Weasley, if not two.

"It's open," She calls out quietly, piercing the silence of her room. The door opens and in files not one, but two Weasleys. Fred and George flop down at the end of Flo's bed, identical grins on their faces.

"We missed you after dinner," Fred informs her with a smirk.

"You made quite the exit though, you should have stuck around for the encore," George chuckles, ducking to avoid to pillow she hurtles his way.

"Not my finest moment, I must admit," Flo admits, but says nothing more on the matter.

"Fancy a game of exploding snap?" George offers, fishing a deck out of his pocket. The tension leaves Flo's expression as she grins, setting aside her book.

"You're on."


	2. Professor R J Lupin

The next morning, Flo is awoken by a fist banging on the door. Aura screeches in protest and Flo stumbles out of bed in a daze.

"Felicity! We're leaving in half an hour, you need to get up!" Mrs Weasley calls through the door.

"I'm up," Flo calls in response. A few moments later, Mrs Weasley knocks again, softly.

"Can I come in for a moment?" She asks. Another flash of guilt makes Flo's stomach twist, but she takes a deep breath, willing it away.

"Yeah, sure," Flo says, heading over and opening the door, motioning Mrs Weasley in. The two say nothing for a long moment. Mrs Weasley seems conflicted, and Flo's mouth is suddenly dry.

"Felicity, I'm really sorry about last night," Mrs Weasley says, reaching out to rub Flo's shoulder. She takes a slow, deep breath.

"No, I'm sorry. You were looking out for me and I shouldn't have spoken to you that way," Flo says, but has to stop to take another breath. Flo hates apologizing. "The truth is, I am stressed out. People look at me differently – the _treat_ me differently and I hate it. I would really appreciate it if we could just move on."

Mrs Weasley looks as though she's about to cry, and hugs Flo tightly. "Yes, yes. Of course, deary. Now, I'll get out of your way, we'll be leaving soon and we shouldn't be late."

Mrs Weasley leaves, and Flo shoves her things into her trunk, forgoing the neat packing she'd tried to do the previous night. Grabbing the clothes she'd worn the night before and heads for a quick, hot shower to wake her up. Downstairs, Mr Weasley hands Flo a plate of toast, staring at Aura perched delicately on Flo's shoulder in bewilderment.

"Don't you have a cage?" He asks. Fred and George take this moment to appear, each with a piece of toast hanging from their mouths, towing trunks behind them.

"Nope," Flo says through her toast. "Aura won't get into cages, or do anything she's told. You have to ask," Flo explains, unable to hide the pride at her stubborn bird.

"I see," Mr Weasley laughs. "Peas in a pod, I suppose," He says, turning away at Mrs Weasley's beckoning.

Through the chaos, the Weasleys, Harry, Flo and Hermione all manage to get to the station in time. Flo leads the way onto the train, closely followed by Fred, George and Percy, who promptly disappears to the Head Boy compartment. Aura twitters at another white owl in a cage, and Flo imagines it's with a degree of smugness. The three find Lee has already found a compartment and is waiting for them.

When everyone is settled, Flo notices Lee is holding a blue container in his lap. "What's that?" She asks, nodding towards it. Lee grins devilishly and cracks it open to reveal a large spider. Aura, who sees an opportunity for breakfast, screeches and lunges for the spider. Lee shouts in surprise, dropping the container while getting out of the way of the owl. The spider scrambles under the compartment door and Aura screeches again, looping back up to her perch on the luggage rack.

"Aura!" Flo chastises, trying not to laugh. Lee is quick to his feet, ignoring the laughing twins and rushing into aisle in search of his spider. Aura hoots, disgruntled. The commotion has attracted the attention of a Hufflepuff, who pokes her head in the door. Flo's face lights up as she recognizes her best friend.

"Kitty!" Flo cries, standing up and crushing Kitty in a hug. She laughs, hugging Flo back. Pulling apart, Kitty notices the speckled grey owl, who hoots down at the pair.

"You got Aura?" She asks, though she doesn't sound surprised.

"Yeah," Flo grins proudly, taking a moment to asses her friend. Her skin is tanned and her already blonde hair has been bleached from hours in the sun. "How was Australia?"

"Fantastic, Mum and Dad found a whole bunch of yellow spotted toads for the store," Kitty enthuses, making Flo laugh.

"Hey, Kitty," The twins take this moment to greet the girl. She smiles softly back, but says nothing. Kitty's family run the menagerie in Diagon Alley, and while Skye runs the store, Kitty and her parents travel around to find animals.

"… Mother of Merlin -," A rather frazzled Lee appears behind Kitty, container closed tightly. "Oh, hey Kitty," He greets with a rueful smile. Kitty offers another smile, her cheeks heating up.

"I'll – uh, I'll see you later, Flo," She says and ducks back into the aisle. Fred, George and Flo exchange knowing smirks. "Care for a round of exploding snap?" Lee offers, stowing his spider away safely.

The three settle in for the long journey to Hogwarts, filling in the time with stories from their summers. Flo once again shows off her burn from the Chinese Fireball, Fred and George share their ambitions to put snakes in all the first year slytherin's bags as a 'welcoming gift' and Lee cleans up in game after game of exploding snap.

"I'm going to go find Hermione, she wanted to ask me about ancient runes," Flo announces, the sky outside having become a dark grey, mirroring the colour of her eyes. She reaches into her tattered messenger bag and pulls out a stained roll of parchment, along with a sugar quill from her stash of sweets.

"Ah yes, of course," Fred says, nodding solemnly.

"We'll see you later, Professor," George finishes, ducking before Flo can swat him with her roll of parchment.

"I'll remember that next time need someone to copy for potions homework," Flo teases, sliding out the door to protests from the twins.

In the corridor, Flo stops to buy some chocolate frogs from the cheery woman with the sweets cart before heading to the back of the train to find Hermione. The woman had started bringing extra frogs for Flo, as she knows how she likes to stock up for the year ahead. Tucked away in the very last compartment, Hermione, Ron, Harry and a very large, very fluffy cat are sitting. Flo slides open the door and the three look up, startled at the sudden intrusion.

"Sorry, gang. Didn't interrupt a plot to save Hogwarts from the wrath of old Voldy, did I?" Flo smirks at the trio, who look slightly rueful at her comment. "Bloody third years," Flo chuckles, plopping down next to Hermione and scratching the cat behind the ears. "So who's that guy?" Flo then decides to ask, motioning towards the sleeping man in the corner. He definitely appeared too old for a student, but it seemed unusual a professor would take the train. She glances around for his luggage or a sign of who she might be, though she already had an inkling.

"He's a professor," Hermione explains, and Flo nods in understanding.

"Well, hopefully this one fares better than the last ones, eh?" Flo smirks.

"They reckon the position is cursed," Ron says quietly, in case the new professor hears. Flo nods again, leaning forward in her seat. The others follow suit, eager to hear what she knows.

"By Snape," She confirms with a quiet chuckle. "Word is, he wants the job and cursed the position so that no one else can have it if he can't," Flo whispers, drawing the three younger students in with her quiet voice. "Anyways, Hermione, you asked for the lowdown on ancient runes, so I thought I'd give you my old essays," Promptly ending the conversation. Ron opens his mouth to say something, but closes it again as the two girls have moved on from the subject.

Hermione accepts the offered parchment, unfurls it to scan the first page. "Is it quite hard?" Hermione asks, a hint of anxiousness in her voice. Flo shrugs, extending her foot to perch on the edge of the opposite seat.

"I wouldn't say so, but I also know a bit of Norwegian which probably helped," Flo says in a rare moment of humility. Hermione looks a little reassured at this, comforted by the uncharacteristic kindness Flo is offering. "I'm dropping it after this year though," Flo adds, causing Hermione to frown.

"How come?" Hermione asks and Flo shrugs again, maintaining an air of nonchalance. "Better things are afoot, child," Flo smirks and Hermione frowns again. Meanwhile, Ron and Harry listen with wary ears.

"Will you help us, too?" Ron asks hopefully. Flo laughs, probably a little too loudly as the sleeping professor shifts slightly.

"Sod off," Flo replies easily. By now, the sky outside has well and truly darkened and the rain patters down on the roof of the train with fervour. Flo's mind wanders to the frail professor huddled in the corner with some curiosity. With any luck, he'll actually be a good teacher, rather than a man made entirely of ego and lies like the previous year. Vaguely, Flo registers Ron complaining about being hungry, but the train slows to a halt and Flo is pulled from her thoughts. She frowns, checking her watch.

"We can't be there yet," Hermione informs Ron and Flo sits up in her seat, sliding the compartment door open to check in the aisle for some indication, though only the faces of other students can be seen. The train lurches a final time and Flo stumbles back into her seat, the compartment door sliding shut again. Thumps and crashes can be heard throughout the train as luggage is disturbed by the lurching. Still, the professor doesn't stir. The train has stopped completely now and, when Flo stands up to leave again, the train is plunged into darkness, the lanterns in the compartment and the ones along the aisle have flickered off. Flo sighs and sits back down.

"What's happening?" Ron asks, voice laced with fear.

"Ouch! Ron, that was my foot," Hermione exclaims and only a few moments after that, Flo feels the same lumbering food tread on her own toes.

"Ron!" Flo snaps in irritation, shoving him off her foot. "Sit down you utter twat."

"Have we broken down?"

"It's a magical train, Ron, what do you think?" Flo mutters, still feeling the stinging in her foot.

"There are people outside, I think they're coming aboard," Ron announces quietly. The compartment door squeaks open again and in trips Neville Longbottom, stumbling over Harry's legs.

"Sorry," Neville says, clambering to his feet.

"How's it going, Neville?" Flo asks, steadying him by gripping the sleeve of his cloak. "Sit down, will you?"

"Is that you, Flo?" Neville asks.

"I'm going to ask the driver what's going on," Hermione announces, brushing past Flo and Harry. An angry hiss erupts from Hermione's cat, whom Neville has accidentally sat on.

"Yes, it's me," Felicity informs Neville. "And I believe you just sat on Crookshanks."

Hermione slides open the door, only to collide with another body. Both people cry out.

"Who's that?"

"Who is that?"

"Ginny?" Hermione asks, stepping back into the compartment to let her in.

"Hermione?" Ginny asks. "I'm looking for Ron."

"Seems the whole gang's here, now," Flo comments dryly. "Have a seat, Ginny," Flo invites.

"Ow! I'm sitting here," Harry protests. In the darkness, Flo rolls her eyes.

" _Quiet!"_ A voice rasps out and the whole compartment falls silent. Flo's heart beats heavily, having completely forgotten about the presence of the sleeping professor in all the chaos. From his corner, crackling could be heard and his gaunt face is illuminated by what looks like a small campfire in the palm of his hand. "Stay where you are," He instructs, and nobody dare say a thing. He moves towards the compartment door, but before he reaches it, it slides open from the other side and, illuminated by the flames, a cloaked figure moves into the doorway. The breath in Flo's lungs rushes away. Though she can't see anything more than an ashen, decayed hand protruding from the cloak, Flo knows exactly what it is.

It draws in a wheezing breath and Flo feels a dark chill descend upon the compartment. She feels it under her skin, piercing her heart and forcing an icy shiver down her spine. Out the corner of her eye, she sees Harry slump over, trembling like a blade of grass in a gust. From deep within her heart, Flo feels dread rising up, draining her courage and her happiness from her body as the beast leans in towards her. Fighting to hold onto consciousness, she leans away, pressing into someone's side before a shout echoes in her ringing ears.

" _Expecto patronum!"_ Blinding light fills the cabin and the dementor recoils, fleeing from the white stream. Moments pass, Flo keeps her eyes squeezed shut, feeling sick and dizzy. She balls her hands into fists to try control the trembling. Finally, warmth returns to the train and Flo feels strong enough to open her eyes. The lamps have turned back on and slowly, the train begins to move again. On the floor, Harry is sprawled out, his pale face glistening, still out to the world. Hermione and Ron lean over him, trying to wake him up. Standing next to her is the professor, eyes brimmed with concern as he waits for Harry to wake as well.

A few minutes pass and Harry slowly awakens, taking in the faces watching over him. Flo has her head tucked between her knees, willing the queasiness in her stomach away but listens as Harry adjusts. A snapping noise pulls Flo's head up, only to see the professor snapping off pieces of chocolate and handing them out.

"Here," Lupin says, passing out pieces. "It'll help."

Flo takes a small bite, not noticing the startled expression on the professor's face, her vision still uncertain around the edges.

"What was that?" Harry asks, and, unable to resist, Flo beats the professor to the answer.

"Dementors," Flo supplies, watching the attention shift briefly over to her.

"One of the dementors from Azkaban," Lupin adds, stuffing the chocolate wrapper into his pocket. Flo looks over to him and has to do a double take. His face, though not one she can put a name to, or even a real memory, feels familiar. She racks her brain, but when nothing comes to mind, the unsettled feeling he gives her intensifies. She stands and heads for the exit without a word, ignoring the gazes following her out.


	3. Words of Caution

All through the ride up to Hogwarts, Flo remains silent, feeling drained of energy. Upon returning to the compartment where the twins and Lee are sitting to find them all pale and unsettled, she splits up the chocolate she'd been given by Lupin and the chocolate frogs she'd bought earlier and curls up against the window.

By the time they reach the Great Hall, Fred and George have returned to their usual, chipper selves, though neither fail to notice how haggard Flo looks. Her usual crooked smirk is gone, replaced with thoughtful, pursed lips. Normally, the steely-eyed girl is alert and watchful, never missing a beat, but the dementors have stolen Flo's usually stoic disposition, leaving her with sullen shoulders and a dejected expression. Flo gazes absentmindedly at the staff table all through the sorting, oblivious to the concerned stares of her friends, or the occasional glance of Lupin's worried eyes.

Pulling herself from her daze, Flo focuses in on the tall figure of Albus Dumbledore. Though Flo often found herself in a constant power struggle with many of her teachers, the headmaster of Hogwarts, with his taste for muggle sweets and seemingly endless supply of knowledge, has always, and most likely will always, have Flo's utmost respect.

"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few things to say to you all, and as one of them is very serious, I think it best to get it out of the way before you become befuddled by our excellent feast. . . ." Dumbledore pauses, glancing around the many young faces with a grave expression, and continues, "As you will all be aware after their search of the Hogwarts Express, our school is presently playing host to some of the dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business. They are stationed at every entrance to the grounds," Dumbledore adds, "and while they are with us, I must make it plain that nobody is to leave school without permission. Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks or disguises — or even Invisibility Cloaks," he adds blandly, and Flo's eyes flicker to Ron and Harry, a ghost of a smirk gracing her pale lips. "It is not in the nature of a dementor to understand pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to the prefects, and our new Head Boy and Girl, to make sure that no student runs afoul of the dementors," Dumbledore glances around to find the faces of the aforementioned students and Flo notices Percy perking up, back straightening up in an effort to puff out his chest more. Next to her, Flo hears George whisper to his twin,"Bighead Boy's head might just explode if he keeps this up."

The twins snigger quietly.

"On a happier note," Dumbledore continues to speak and Flo refocuses on his words, "I am pleased to welcome two new teachers to our ranks this year.

"First, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

Unenthusiastic applause can be heard, save for the few who met him on the train the compartment, who clap loudly. Flo claps a few times, setting her steely gaze on the man with a thoughtful expression. 'Who is this guy?' She wonders, holding his gaze defiantly when he meets her gaze, his expression unreadable.

"As to our second new appointment," Dumbledore continues when the hall grows quiet again. "Well, I am sorry to tell you that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired at the end of last year in order to enjoy more time with his remaining limbs. However, I am delighted to say that his place will be filled by none other than Rubeus Hagrid, who has agreed to take on this teaching job in addition to his gamekeeping duties."

This time, Flo does clap enthusiastically, watching with some amusement as Hagrid stands up, knocking the table and scattering the cutlery. At least Care of Magical Creatures will be interesting this year, she thinks, finally feeling her energy returning.

After the feast, Flo, Fred and George slip into the crowd of Gryffindors ambling their way up to their tower, wide-eyed first years at the front, being ushered by Percy, who seems to be giving them a long reminder of the rules at Hogwarts. Flo remains silent and thoughtful, until a whispering group of second years catches her attention. Ginny Weasley has a deep frown set into her freckled features and it looks as though she's involved in a deep argument with two boys. Flo watches, interest piqued by Ginny's apparent frustration. Their voices grow loud enough for Flo to just make out pieces of their conversation.

"... I heard he fainted..."

"What do you know, Kurt?" Ginny all but yells. Deciding that she's heard enough, Flo separates from the twins, who themselves were discussing the upcoming homework epidemic they were expecting in the face of their first O.W.L exams at the end of the year. Flo moves through the crowd, narrowly avoiding colliding with Neville Longbottom for the second time in a night. He gives her an apologetic grimace but is ushered along with the crowd before anything can be said.

Flo's hand finds a particularly scrawny third year's shoulder and directs the startled girl out of her way, leaving a clear path to the three second years, who have separated from the pack. Flo smirks, sauntering over to stand by Ginny's side, who looks relieved to see a friend. Flo pays Ginny no mind, however, instead, she gazes down at the boys, narrowing her eyes a fraction and places a hand over Ginny's shoulder, twirling her ash wand casually in the other.

"Have you guys heard?" She asks no one in particular. The boys exchange a nervous glance before Flo demands their full attention again. "They're going to start using the dementors as punishment instead of detention this year. I wonder, which of you two will cry for their Mummy first when McGonagall hears about some stupid second years harassing her best seeker?" Beside her, Ginny giggles and Flo's stoic expression falters for a moment, but she regains it when Kurt, a mousy boy with ears that stick out from underneath his floppy hair, squares his shoulders.

"You'll be first then, Black. My brother told me they weren't even going to let you come back to school. You're practically as dangerous as your dad," Kurt gives the older girl his best sneer. Black's crooked smirk melts away as her jaw clenches. Her wand stills in her hand and she grips it, pointing at Kurt's forehead, but before she can mutter an incantation to enlarge his nose, Fred and George appear, each linking their arms with hers.

"Making friends without us?" George asks Flo, giving her a disheartened expression. Flo's smirk returns, along with her composure and she slides her wand up her sleeve.

"Oh, you know me," Flo replies easily, sparing a threatening glance in the direction of the boys. "Always looking out for the children," Flo can't help but to sneer the last word of her sentence before turning, leading the twins up the stairs, arms still linked casually.

Flo doesn't dwell on the second years for too long as she, alongside Fred and George, wait for the last excited first years to head away to their dormitories. The common room, now free from other people, is quiet. The usually excited mood is dampened tonight by the elephant in the room.

"It was like I'd never be able to laugh again," George starts off in earnest and Fred nods in agreement. Flo stares intently at the embers in the fireplace, feet tucked underneath her on the overstuffed armchair.

"I think it thought I was him," She says, almost too quietly to be heard. Fred and George look at her, startled by the revelation. "Or at least recognized that I was connected to him some way and didn't care enough to distinguish," Flo adds, noticing their unsettled gazes. After a long, thoughtful evening, Flo is no longer frightened by this fact, rather awash with determination to not be hindered by it, rather, Flo is determined to show everyone that she is nothing like the man in the 'WANTED' photos in the Prophet.

"Well," Fred says after a long silence, "At least this Defence teacher seems to know what he's doing."

Flo hums in agreement, listening with one ear as George explains to Fred his most recent idea for a prank, involving an ever-bashing boomerang he'd picked up at Gambol and Japes. The mention of Lupin had her mind wandering back to the confusion he always brought to her mind. Seeing him stirred up something low in her stomach, something akin to an ache, but Flo keeps drawing blanks. Not knowing something is a feeling she's unused to, so Flo makes a mental note to write to her uncle first thing in the morning. Surely, he'll have answers for her.

"Albus, I want to take her in, you know that I do. But – with my condition..." Remus Lupin trails off, his face crumpling as he looks down at the little girl squirming in his arms. Ever since Sirius had been detained, she's been endlessly restless, unable to settle down without the comfort of her Daddy.

Flo looks up at her Uncle Remus and frowns. Where is her Daddy? Flo reaches out, gripping the old lapel of Remus' coat and pulling herself up onto her feet, balancing on his lap to look around the room better.

"I understand the delicate nature of your situation, Remus, I do..." Albus sighs, looking at the little girl, who is staring back at him from underneath ebony curls. "She will have to go to live with Bianca's brother, though it may take a few days to reach him," Albus trails off, looking pointedly at Remus, who nods, steadying Flo as she stumbles on his knees.

"She'll stay with me until then, of course," He confirms, pulling the little girl into a hug.

Flo blinks, scrunching her eyes at the intrusion of sunlight. It takes a few moments for her to wake up properly, but as the memory of dream returns, Flo sits upright abruptly. Surely her dream was just that, a dream, right? Her thoughts miles away, the girl pays no mind to the routine of getting ready, barely acknowledging Angelina Johnston's question about Oliver Wood.

Flo, much to her own surprise, woke up with enough time to get to the owlery and have breakfast before her first class of the day. Not bothering to wait for Fred and George to appear, Flo climbs out of the portrait hole and trails behind a gaggle of first years all the way to the great hall. Kitty is already sitting at a table, reading her copy of 'The Monster Book of Monsters' over marmalade toast. Ignoring the surprised expressions from the Hufflepuffs at the table, Flo joins the blonde, stealing a slice of toast while pouring a cup of pumpkin juice and buttering her own toast.

"Hey, Flo," Kitty greets, not looking up from her book.

"Hey, Kitty," Flo replies, accepting the schedule Percy hands to her with a nod, shoving a piece of toast into her mouth, being careful not to check the faculty table for Lupin and reading over her schedule instead.

"We have herbology together first," Flo notes to Kitty, who finally looks away from her book to check her own schedule. Her plump lips curve into a gentle smile as she and Flo compare their classes.

"Are you nervous for O. ?" Kitty asks, sounding a little hopeful. Flo laughs openly, raising an eyebrow at her friend.

"Are you?" Says Flo, to which Kitty nods, frowning slightly at Flo's disinterest in the upcoming exams. Flo's smirk softens slightly at Kitty's response and she pats the other girl on the shoulder.

"Relax, I'll help you with History and Transfiguration, you'll be fine for everything else," Flo says, but before Kitty can respond, they're approached by a first year, who hands Flo a small parchment roll and hurries away without looking her in the eye. Flo rolls her eyes at the Ravenclaw, unamused by the fearfulness other students are receiving her presence with. On the scroll, written in a sloping, delicate script reads:

Miss Black,

I wish to speak with you in my study before your first class of the day.

I have some liquorice pieces for you to snack on if you care for something sweet.

Prof. Dumbledore

Remembering her encounter with the second year Gryffindors last night, Flo sighs. It seems as though her detentions this year may reach a record high. Grabbing her last piece of toast and bidding Kitty goodbye, Flo exits the Great Hall and heads for Dumbledore's study. On her way, she debates mentioning her dream to the professor; he was also in it after all, but decides to wait to hear from her uncle first. That, she realises, will have to wait until her lunch before she can send Aura with her letter.

At the stone gargoyle that guards the spiral stairs leading to Dumbledore's chambers, Flo provides the password, 'liquorice pieces' and takes the stairs at a jog, wanting to be done in time to walk to herbology with Kitty. Knocking twice, Flo enters Dumbledore's study to find him standing by his phoenix, Fawkes.

"Ah, Miss Black," Dumbledore smiles, leading her over to his large, oak desk where they sit.

"Professor," Flo greets, linking her hands and leaning back into the large chair.

"I'm glad you made it, I don't intend on keeping you long as I'm sure you're eager to get to your classes," He pauses, eyes twinkling, when Flo snorts quietly. "I want to speak with you about the dementors currently guarding our school."

Flo remains silent, though raises her eyebrows in surprise. This is not what she'd anticipated their conversation to be about, though, Flo points out to herself, she probably should have seen this coming, given the interest the dementor on train paid to her.

"I have been informed that the search on the train revealed an interesting predicament for you. I am to understand that the dementors seem to struggle with resisting your, shall we say, commonalities with Sirius Black," Dumbledore begins, but pauses to observe the sneer appearing on the girl's face. "I understand how you struggle with your association with your father, Miss Black, but allow me to assure you that what the dementors see in you is your will to survive and your courageous spirit."

Flo is silent, trying to restrain her temper in the presence of the headmaster. Dumbledore studies her for a moment before continuing. "I feel that it is necessary to implore you to do your best to stay away from them, and indeed, when leaving the grounds, ensure that you accompanied and do not dawdle near them."

"If you find these dementors so terrible, professor, why do allow them to come so near the school?" Flo questions, holding his gaze with her own.

"It is not entirely my decision, I'm afraid. Nevertheless Miss Black, I must stress the importance of you steering clear of them, to the best of your ability."

"Yes, professor," Flo replies with an unusually solemn expression.


	4. Malfoy's Problem

**Please note, there was an error (I uploaded the wrong chapter, oops) and what was previously chapter four is now five. Sorry!**

After herbology, Flo, Fred and George have to jog in order to make it to transfiguration on time after Professor Sprout made the three stay behind to clean up the shattered pots they had broken while trying to hit each other with the dragon dung. Rushing up the stairs, the three arrive outside McGonagall's classroom just in time for the door to be opened and the other fifth year Gryffindors and Slytherins to start filing in. Falling in at the back, Flo turns to Fred and George.

"I hope we get to do something cool this year," she says as they find seats near the back of the class, pulling out parchment, quills and their copies of 'Intermediate Transfiguration'.

McGonagall, the only professor in Hogwarts who Flo and the Weasley twins daren't cause trouble for, turns to the class of fifth years, studying them all for a moment. "This year, we will be studying conjuring spells, which will hopefully be entertaining enough for Miss black," McGonagall sends a pointed stare in her direction, to which Flo tips an imaginary hat in her direction, smirking crookedly.

"As I'm sure all of you are aware of by now, your O.W.L exams this year will determine what you study next year, and indeed what you will be able to do in the wizarding world when you leave Hogwarts. This, I feel, speaks plenty of the importance of the work we will be covering this year. If you will all turn to page 49 in your books, we will begin with Inanimatus Conjurus."

Fred, George and Flo share a table, practicing conjuring cutlery in turns, keeping a watchful eye over McGonagall, who is prowling between groups to watch their progress. "Malfoy was mocking Harry at breakfast," George tells Flo, conjuring up a teacup without a bottom.

Flo vanishes the deformed cup before producing a dinner plate, transforming it into a bowl and then vanishing it, smirking at Fred, who mutters, "Show off," and conjures a wooden spoon in retaliation.

"Someone ought to teach that Malfoy to be a little more polite," Flo says with a devilish grin.

At lunch, Flo skips the Great Hall, leaving George with the job of saving her a chicken sandwich and heads up to the owlery, where Aura glides down from the highest perch to greet her, accepting the treat Flo offers her.

"How are you today?" Flo asks the bird, setting Aura on her shoulder and rummaging through her bag to find the letter she wrote for her Uncle. "Will you do me a favour today, Aura?" Flo then asks, showing the owl her letter. Aura hoots softly and, after some hesitation, takes the letter in her beak. Flo grins triumphantly and leads her over to the window, where she takes off, quickly becoming a grey speck in the distance.

In Ancient Runes, a small class absent of her two friends, Flo sits at the very back and reads her book, paying little mind to the professor's instructions as she'd read the whole book over the summer out of sheer boredom. At the end of the class, Flo doesn't hide her disdain at the two feet of homework she's given on the comparing the similarities between the only two known words, ehwaz and eihwaz.

Her last class of the day is potions, joined once again by Fred and George. They follow the large group of other fifth years heading down to the dungeons, where Snape is awaiting with a greasy sneer. Professor Snape and Flo have butted heads since her first potions class, back in her first year at Hogwarts. Even before Flo provoked him, he seemed especially resentful of her existence.

Like all the other professors of the day, Snape reminds the students of the O. in June. He leers over the Weasley twins and Flo as he paces between tables. "For those of you who don't know, only those who achieve an 'O' in my class this year will be permitted to take this class at N.E.W.T level. Subsequently, these potions will separate those of you competent enough to continue, and those too," He pauses to stare down at an anxious looking Ravenclaw, "unfocused, to take my class.

"Today, we will begin with a Draught of Peace. The instructions are on the board, you have one hour."

40 minutes later, Flo stirs the soft pink liquid, watching, unenthused, as it darkens to a brilliant crimson shade before removing the wooden spoon and allowing it to simmer. Next to her, Fred's potion has turned an alarming shade of burnt orange, and Flo watches in amusement as Fred goes through the instructions once more in an attempt to find his mistake, George, too, has encountered the same problem and Flo sniggers when they look to her for an answer. Flo opens her mouth to speak, but it is interrupted by a scathing Snape.

"10 points from Gryffindor," He drawls, standing over their table. "Black, if I see you helping the Weasleys again, it will be 50."

Flo glares hard at the professor, but says nothing. Instead, she adds more powdered moonstone to her now shimmery purple potion and elbows Fred, indicating to the burner underneath her cauldron, the gentle flames half the size of his own raging burner.

Soon, the colour fades to a pearlescent white in Flo's cauldron, and she lowers the heat on her burner and checks her watch to time the simmering. "Let's give Malfoy a nice present tonight," Flo utters to Fred, who nods and passes the message along to George.

"Time is up. Pour the contents of your cauldron into a vial, label it and bring it to my desk," Snape orders, rubbing the directions off the board as the class pull out glass vials, quietly comparing their results. "I expect three feet of parchment on the effects of a draught of peace and the importance of following instructions precisely."

At this news, Flo curses, thumping her empty cauldron onto the table, corking the vial and dragging her feet to the front of the room, where Snape is glaring down at her. "20 points, Black."

At dinner, Flo takes a sealed ink pottle from Neville sitting next to her and drops it, rolling it along the cobbled floor where it comes to a halt right near Malfoy. "I'll get it, Neville!" George calls, jogging over to the Slytherin table behind Malfoy, picking up the ink pottle and sprinkling a silvery powder over Malfoy's dinner plate. He runs back, placing the ink in front of a bewildered Neville and turning, along with Flo and Fred, to grin over at an oblivious Malfoy. Moments pass and the three lean forward, peering to see if he's eaten anything. Another moment passes. Malfoy's face turns very red and he stands quickly, knocking Crabbe's goblet of juice over his robes and, before he can make a run for it, lets off a loud, belching fart. The noise in the hall falters in the wake of the fart as Malfoy rushes from the hall, but not before a bellowing fart can be heard once more as he scampers away.

Flo is laughing so hard she has to lean on George for support. Fred is cackling into his pumpkin juice, along with almost all the Gryffindor table and the Ravenclaws on the other side of the Slytherins. George and Flo make eye contact for a brief moment and Flo's stomach stirs. The laughter dies down at Dumbledore's encouragement, but Flo sees Harry's beaming face and knows that her flatulence powder did its job.

"What do you think Lupin will be like?" George asks no one in particular as the three head down from Gryffindor tower to Defence Against the Dark Arts. Flo remains quiet, her stomach twisting uncomfortably. Ever since her dream, Flo has done her best to avoid the professor as best she can, but now there is no escaping her thoughts, or the unnerving feeling of familiarity.

"Hopefully a pushover," Fred muses idly. "I'd love to catch up on some sleep after we got up early to give Filch a nice welcome back present."

"From what I've heard, he's no pushover," Flo smirks, hoisting the worn strap of her bag higher on her shoulder. At the door, the other fifth years are talking excitedly as well. Much to Flo's annoyance, the Gryffindors are doubled with Slytherin for this Defence period.

"Everybody watch out! Black might blow you up," A round faced girl with silvery hair called Selina Gibbon, cries out and the Slytherins howled with laughter.

"Come off it, Gibbon," Lee scoffs. Flo pushes her way through the crowd, coming nose to nose with Selina and sneers.

"It's okay, Lee," Flo calls over to him. "After all, if I'm such a pal with ol' Sirius Black, perhaps he'll like to hear what she has to say."

A flash of violet erupts from Selina's wand as she sends a hex towards Flo, who calls out, "Protego!" A transparent barrier forms between Flo and Selina, blocking the spell with ease. The two classes erupt into noise as the jynx is blocked and Angelina and Katie try to hold Fred and George back, who are shouting obscenities over at the Slytherin girl.

"Enough!" A familiar voice hollers, and the class falls silent. Selina stuffs her wand back in her pocket and points an accusatory finger at Flo, who keeps her eyes on the Slytherins, hand lowered but gripping her wand so tight her knuckles are white. "20 points from Slytherin, and I will see you after class, Miss Gibbon," Lupin's brow is furrowed, but he allows the group into the class room. Much to their surprise, the desks and chairs have been pushed to the outer walls of the room. He turns to the class with a stern expression.

"I don't know what started that, but I expect you all to leave it back in the corridor. If I have to break up something like that again, I will ensure that all of you learn some proper wand etiquette.

"Today, we will be learning quite possibly the most important defensive spell this syllabus contains, though from what I just witnessed, Miss Black already seems perfectly competent," Lupin's eyes fall on the girl, who, flanked closely by Fred and George, inspects her wand nonchalantly. "Miss Black, will you explain the spell you just performed outside to the class?"

Flo finally brings her eyes up to look at Lupin, who, while still looking tattered, appears to be in much better shape than he did on the train only a few days prior. He has a careful smile on his face and Flo's heart thumps against her chest. "It's a shield charm," She finally says, offering no other information on the matter.

Lupin explains the charm and the class splits into pairs to practice. "Remember, the only charm you will be shielding yourself from is impedimenta," He reminds, casting a meaningful look at Flo and Selina. George and Flo stand facing each other and, since Flo has no problems conjuring the shield, sends the jynx George's way. By the end of the lesson, most of the class can produce a shield and, much to Flo's satisfaction, George's shield seems to one of the most consistent of the group, alongside Kate Bell's and Fred's.

At about 7 that evening, Fred, George and Flo sit in front of the fire. Flo has a roll of parchment in her lap for her potions homework; the only thing more miserable than doing as Snape tells her is having to spend detention with him sneering down at her.

"You'll let me copy, won't you, Flo?" Fred asks in a sweet voice. Flo throws a Bertie Botts bean at him and laughs.

"Sod off I will," She retorts, underlining a sentence in her book with erasable ink. A first year approaches Flo with another piece of parchment, looking suitably terrified at having to address her. After their Defence lesson earlier, news of the tussle between Flo and Selina had spread so fast that, by lunch, Ron was waiting to greet her with a sling of curse words that even Flo was impressed by. The letter is another from Dumbledore; a request for another meeting. Feeling unsurprised by this after the day she's had, which included losing 20 points for conjuring birds in the classroom and a detention from McGonagall after she was caught brandishing her wand at another Slytherin who wanted to know if Flo was going to leave school early to go on the run with Sirius. Flo heads back to Dumbledore's study, feeling deflated, however, upon reaching the top of the spiralling stairs, she finds the old wizard isn't alone.

Sitting across from Dumbledore, the tired looking Professor Lupin sits, sipping a cup of tea that smells strongly of lemon and peppermint. Flo walks in cautiously, only smiling at Dumbledore's greeting, sharp eyes assessing the room.

"I am to understand you've had quite the eventful day today, Miss Black," Dumbledore smiles softly behind his beard and Flo shrugs, sitting down next to Lupin, ignoring the urge to study him.

"I've never felt so desirable," Flo jokes offhandedly and Dumbledore chuckles.

"I'm afraid there is little I can do to help you there, but I've been thinking a lot since our last meeting," Dumbledore says. "Even after only a few days, the dementors are growing restless and I feel it's important that you learn to protect yourself. Professor Lupin has kindly offered to assist me by teaching you how to protect yourself from them."

Flo spares a glance at Lupin, feeling as though her choice has been removed from the equation completely. Flo considers the man with some curiosity but says nothing, only nods in consent.

"Excellent!" Dumbledore claps his hands together and Flo smiles slightly. "Halloween is approaching quickly, so I think perhaps you shall begin the following week?"


	5. Halloween

**Please note! I did a little whoopsy and posted this as chapter four, instead of chapter four, so to clear any confusion, I would advice going back to read chapter four!**

Just as Dumbledore had said, October rolled around quickly, along with the first visit to Hogsmeade and indeed, Halloween. By this point, the leaves have all become different shades of pale yellow and burnt orange, leaving Filch and Hagrid spending all their spare time raking them into piles, only to have the students scatter them about while leaping into the huge piles.

On the morning of Halloween, Flo, Fred and George walk down to the gates of Hogwarts, taking the long trail down to Hogsmeade. "Zonko's first?" Flo asks the twins.

"Hell yeah!" They chorus, to which Flo rolls her eyes, though a soft smile can be seen from behind her billowing curls. She pulls her scarf higher up her face and lightly punches George's arm.

"Race ya!" She yells, taking off at a sprint in front of Fred and George. The pair yell after her, but run to catch up nevertheless. The three hurtle into the quiet town of Hogsmeade, panting hard and laughing.

Flo's boots, which had been fresh and shiny at the gates of Hogwarts have been coated with a sludgy layer of mud and Fred has speckles of mud across his face. The three slow to a walk, waiting for Flo, who is bent over, bracing her hands against her knees to catch her breath. When she catches up, she notices the mud adorning Fred's cheek and laughs, wiping it off with her sleeve, much to Fred's distaste. He swats her hand away and George snickers.

"Hey!" She laughs as George grabs her around the waist and lifts her clean off the ground, dropping her on the other side of him and away from Fred, high fiving him triumphantly.

Hogsmeade, an entirely wizarding settlement, consisting of one main, winding street and few dingy alleyways is home to Fred, George and Flo's favourite shop; Zonko's. Inside the small shop, Hogwarts students have already arrived, crowding around a new display for hiccough sweets. Fred leads the way to the back wall of the store, where towering shelves display packets of dungbombs, inflatable tongues and, most importantly, firecrackers. Varying in size from thumb-sized cylinders to a dragon's head larger than Flo's entire torso, in a range of vibrant colours, the fireworks at Zonko's Joke Shop provide endless entertainment for the pranking trio. Using some of the money she earned over the summer at the dragon reserve, Flo stocks up with as many fireworks as she can carry and a wide selection of other small novelties to pass the time over the holidays. A good portion of their day is spent at the joke shop and the three leave with light pockets, heavy bags and big smiles.

"Look, Freddy," George begins in a devilish tone. "There's Pansy Parkinson. Why don't we show her our new dungbombs?" George and Fred take off at a jog to catch up the younger Slytherin. Flo, uninterested by the beady-eyed girl, heads into Tomes and Scrolls. The bookshop is the oldest store in the settlement, and the gentlemen who tends the store has himself admitted that there books in the depths of the dark shelves that even he isn't aware of. Though Flo hates to admit it, the store has become one of her favourite haunts in the village, full of intrigue and curiosities.

The shopkeeper, who has become familiar with the dark haired girl over the years, smiles in greeting. Before today though, he had never any clue as to who she is, or her name, but staring into her steely eyes and taking in her wild mane of curls, he feels that he has just answered his ponderings. Tactful enough not to let this sudden discovery be displayed on his expression, he busies himself with the inventory list in front of him.

Flo watches the man carefully for a moment before moving deeper into the store to explore. Her eyes scan the leather-bound spines of books, landing on a title that makes her pause, curious eyes studying the faded title. 'The Art of Animagi'. Flo's eyes glint excitedly and she grabs the book off the shelf, approaching the manager and setting the book down on the table. The manager eyes flit between the book and the young girl, but he says nothing.

"4 galleons," he requests, which Flo pulls from her coin bag, noting that it's beginning to feel lighter and lighter as the day progresses. She shoves the book into her bag, careful not to set off the fireworks, and rushes from the store to find Fred and George. A few stores down, in Honeydukes, Flo encounters the boys emerging. They wave her over and she jogs to reach them.

"Where'd you get off to?" George asks, eyeing her bag suspiciously. Flo only shrugs, but the smirk gives her away.

"Nowhere important."

"Bullshit!" Fred retorts, making Flo laugh. Ahead of them, Angelina, Alicia and Katie are walking. "Never mind then. I'm going to go see Angelina," Fred says, rushing ahead of George and Flo.

"You reckon he has a shot?" George asks, nudging Flo to make sure she's listening. Flo looks up at him with her crooked smirk.

"Not a chance."

"Three Broomsticks?" George suggests, and Flo nods, linking arms with him and skipping down the cobbled street. The pair warm themselves with butterbeer in the pub, sliding into a booth to snicker at a red-faced Ron being served by Madam Rosmerta. "So how come you're so weirded out by Lupin?"

Flo looks up from her butterbeer and scrunches her nose. "You noticed, huh?"

"You're the only person who doesn't love him." George replies, shrugging. Flo stares at him, smouldering eyes studying him, trying to decide if she should confide in him. Realising George would never give her a reason to mistrust him, she sighs, proud shoulders relaxing slightly.

"Listen, you can't tell anyone about this," Flo says, her voice lowered. The pair lean toward the centre of the table to be heard over the noise. George nods in affirmation, remembering briefly the absence of Fred. "I've been having these weird dreams.

"I'm always really young in them and - well, Lupin's in them. They're like memories, or something," Flo pauses, running a hand through her curly mane. "I think he looked after me after my father, you know," Flo sighs, leaning back into her seat, feeling conflicted.

"That's really weird. Wouldn't Balthazar have told you, or even Lupin himself?" George asks, frowning thoughtfully.

"You would think so. My family situation is kind of a shit show though," Flo points out with a bitter chuckle. George laughs, shaking his head.

"You're a state," He teases, dodging as she tries to swat him from the other side of the table.

Flo and George are rejoined by Fred on the walk back to Hogwarts, oblivious to the conversation his counterparts shared in his absence. In the castle, the corridors are decorated with carved pumpkins. On their way up to the dorm, Flo pauses to enchant one to swear at anyone who passes it, to the glee of Fred and George.

In her dorm, Flo finds Aura waiting, perched on her bedhead in front of a sealed letter in Balthazar's haphazard scrawl. New purchases forgotten, Flo tears open the seal and reads, anxiety twisting at her stomach.

Felicity,

Remus Lupin took care of you before I took you in my charge, though I never did meet the man, you missed him a great deal. You were very young and I'm surprised you even remember him at all. Kiddo, I'm sure this is confusing for you, but I'm afraid that's all the information I have for you. Perhaps it would the man himself can answer your questions?

With love,

Balt

P.S

Christmas at the Weasley's. I'll see you there.

Flo sighs, scrunching up the letter and cramming it under her pillow, cautious of the letter being discovered by another girl in her dormitory. Aura hoots, growing tired of waiting for a treat. Flo looks over at the ashy owl and digs in her pocket, offering a peanut. The owl twitters, satisfied and allows Flo to stroke her feathers.

"Thanks, Aura," Flo sighs, flopping back onto her bed cover and staring up at the deep red ceiling. Aura takes her leave with a soft flutter, but Flo's mind is elsewhere. So her dreams aren't dreams, but memories. Does it matter? She asks herself. Unable to sort her thoughts, Flo heads down to the common room, giving an absent "see you later" to Fred and George and climbing out the portrait hole.

The Hufflepuff dorm is located down the same corridor as the kitchens, behind some old vinegar barrels. Using the Marauders Map, Flo found Kitty's footsteps in the common room of her house. Rather than entering, Flo waits and after a short time, a boy, the new quidditch captain, Diggory, to be specific, appears, looking startled to see the Gryffindor lurking by the barrels.

"Can you get Kitty for me?" She asks and Diggory, still looking bemused, nods, turning back and disappearing. Minutes pass before he returns with Kitty, who shoots Flo a questioning glance. "Thanks," Flo says to Diggory before pulling Kitty away by the arm.

"What's wrong?" Kitty asks, but Flo says nothing for a few more moments, searching for an empty classroom. She peers in the window of an unnamed door to find it full of stacked desks and tries the door. Unphased at it being locked, Flo slides her want from up her sleeve, uttering, "Alohomora," to unlock the door. Kitty follows Flo in, who turns back to the door and locks it again.

"I lived with Lupin before I moved in with Uncle Balt," Flo announces before Kitty has a chance to speak. Her mouth falls open, lime coloured eyes widening. "I just found out. I don't really remember it, or him but I just, had this feeling that I knew him, y'know?"

"Merlin," Kitty finally says after her surprised silence. "Have you talked to him about it?"

"No," Flo scoffs. "What if he doesn't remember? Maybe he doesn't want to remember."

Kitty grips Flo's arms, staring her in the eyes. "Come on, Flo. You said yourself he acted really strangely when he saw you. Maybe he doesn't know how to approach you? You have that affect, you know," Kitty reasons. Flo shoots her a doubtful look, chewing on her lip. In a rare moment of insecurity, Flo looks to her friend again.

"And if he doesn't want anything to do with me?"

Kitty's eyes soften and she hugs Flo, who accepts it, grateful for the sensitive touch. "What if he knew your mum? You won't know until you find out."

Flo stands back, squaring her shoulders and nodding, confidence renewed. "It doesn't matter either way," Flo decides. "I'm just glad I know. Let's go down to the Great Hall, I don't want to miss the feast."

Kitty studies Flo, not buying her non-comital words but agreeing nevertheless. At the Great Hall, the pair separate. It had been decorated with pumpkins filled with candles, and, to Kitty's delight, high above the tables, a swarm of fruit bats. Flo finds a seat next to Fred and George, unable to resist stealing a glance at Lupin, who is chatting animatedly to Hagrid before forcing her attention back to the table.

Across from her sits Oliver, who takes the opportunity to discuss tactics with the nearby Gryffindor players.

"Relax, Oliver," Fred says around a mouthful of food.

"We'll win this year for sure," George reassures, though Oliver looks as though he wants to argue.

"I'll look after Harry personally," Flo smirks. "It's not like anyone could actually hurt a hair on his body if I've got his back."

George laughs, mocking her cockiness from the other side of Fred. Oliver drops the subject after that, unsure if he should be relieved or concerned by Flo's offer. Flo follows the steady crowd of Gryffindors up their common room, after the feast, her thoughts falling back to Lupin.

"What's going on?" George asks from beside her, drawing her attention back to the present. Ahead of them, a huge crowd of Gryffindors are grouped in front of the Fat Lady's portrait.

"..Excuse me," Percy brushes past his brothers, badge gleaming on his robes. "I'm Head Boy.." Fred and George roll their eyes.

"Maybe Neville forgot the password again?" Flo suggests, scanning the crowd, trying to see over the heads ahead of her. A silence shivers down the crowd from near the portrait, Flo cranes her neck, trying to see.

"Fetch Professor Dumbledore. Quickly," Percy says with such urgency that Fred and George don't even snicker. Felicity strains to see ahead, alarm gripping at her heart.

Dumbledore arrives only moments later and the crowd squeezes to the sides to allow him to pass. Flo moves forward, stopping next to Hermione. Her breath catches in her throat. The Fat Lady is gone, her portrait left in shreds, whole pieces having been torn clean off.

Dumbledore turns to the approaching McGonagall, Lupin and Snape. "We need to find her," He says. "Professor McGonagall, please go to Mr Filch at once, tell him we need to search every painting in the castle for the Fat Lady."

"You'll be lucky!" A voice croons. Peeves the Poltergeist, hovering over the crowd looking as gleeful as he ever did in times of seriousness.

"Would you care to explain, Peeves?" Dumbledore asks, his expression calm. Peeves falters slightly, unwilling to taunt the headmaster.

"Ashamed, Your Headship. Doesn't want to be seen. She's an awful mess. Saw her on the fourth floor last, crying something terrible," he says, unable to completely contain his joy.

"Did she say who did it?" Dumbledore asks.

"Oh yes," Peeves says, holding back a cackle. "He got very angry when she wouldn't let him in, you see." Peeves twirls in the air, grinning at Dumbledore upside-down. "Nasty temper he's got, that Sirius Black."

* * *

 **Hey readers! I'd been avoiding doing the author's note thing, but I wanted to apologise for the gap in uploads, I decided to complete this story before uploading. So, yes, I've completed it, so I'll be adding chapters regularly as I edit them. I've also started writing the sequel to this, which takes place in Goblet of Fire, which I'm super excited about for many reasons.**

 **To surmise: This story is COMPLETE pending editing, yay!**


	6. An Abrupt Ending

Never before did Flo wish that she could sink through the floor more than she did when Peeves revealed the intruder's identity. Whispers of panic rise up from the crowd of Gryffindors, a sea of fearful eyes finding Felicity's face.

The whispering continues, along with the anxious glances, for most of the night. Felicity, accompanied closely by Fred, George and Kitty hunkers into her sleeping bag in the Great Hall, finding the quietest corner she can. She remains silent all through the night, doing her best to ignore Fred and George's tentative attempts to talk. By the early hours of the night, she is left to think.

Try as she might to hate the man, she struggles. Her father, though she remembers nothing of him, is still her father. Why did he risk breaking into Hogwarts? What is there to gain from the Gryffindor tower, specifically? Filled with questions she has no answers for, sleep does not come for the girl, and as dawn breaks, she is up before anyone else in the hall. Dumbledore, who, Felicity realises, probably didn't sleep either, is standing near the entrance to the Great Hall. He offers her a gentle smile. She nods in response. "Morning, Professor," she murmurs.

"Good morning, Miss Black," Dumbledore greets. "A word, if I may?"

Flo obliges, following the old wizard into the Entrance Hall, looking at him expectantly, her patience nearing the end of its tether after her sleepless night.

"Fear," he begins, "is an irrational emotion. People will do and say just about anything under fear's influence. You, Miss Black, are not a fearful person, a rare trait in someone your age, but your fellow classmates are not as impervious to this - irrationality - as you are. Their fear will fade, sooner than you might think. This will not last forever."

Dumbledore's words, though comforting at the time, are forgotten over the next several days. Felicity can barely leave her dorm without being stared at, and the quiet whispers begin to feel like shouting in her ears. Fred and George, loyal as ever, barely leave her side, even walking her to classes at the risk of being late for their own, though Flo isn't sure if it's to make her feel better or to make sure she doesn't disembowel another student. Eager for an excuse to leave the near constant scrutiny, she doesn't even mind that the opportunity comes in the form of a private lesson with Lupin.

"Where are you going, Flo?" Fred demands, spying her trying to sneak out the portrait hole. Felicity rolls her eyes, but smirks slightly.

"Lupin's office," she says, and lowers her voice, leaning in to ensure no one else hears. "Dementor training," Flo explains. Fred and George nod in understanding and leave her to climb through the portrait.

Lupin's office is spacious, lit mostly by the large, open fire. He greets the young student with a soft smile, but Felicity sees a flash of something else in his eyes. She wants to comment on it, burning for an explanation, but says nothing.

"Felicity! Come in, come in," he ushers her in, closing the door behind her and guiding her further into the office. "Tea?" He offers and Felicity nods, smiling carefully.

They sit at his desk and she watches as he flicks his wand at the tea pot. Steam emerges and Felicity has to wonder how often he does that in a day. She accepts the offered tea, holding the handle of the flowery cup delicately, though her calloused hand is resistant to the heat of the cup.

"What exactly am I learning, Professor?" Felicity asks, taking a sip of the tea.

"What I hope to teach you is a defensive spell by the name of the patronus charm. It's a fair bit beyond normal wizarding level, but, judging by the ease with which you've progressed through my class, I have a good feeling you'll get the hang of it," Lupin says, smiling slightly at Felicity's crooked smirk. She has no uncertainties about her abilities.

"I'm better with a wand than basically every seventh year," Flo points out, undaunted by his warning. "What does a patronus do?" She adds, noting the amusement on Lupin's face.

"A patronus charm is an embodiment of what dementors feed on. It acts as a sort of shield; instead of feeding on you, it feeds on the patronus. The shield is unique to its conjurer, each wizard's shield appearing in a different shape."

"Alright then, let's get this show on the road," Flo says, downing her cup of tea and standing up, cracking her knuckles in preparation. Lupin chuckles, standing as well.

"I must warn you, this won't come as easy as you're used to," Lupin advices, leaning back on his desk as Flo stands back, drawing her wand.

"What do I do?"

"You'll only conjure one if you focus very hard on a single happy memory. You need to dig deep for this, it needs to make your chest swell with happiness for it to be strong enough to feed a patronus. Take as long as you need to think, make sure your mind is clear and, when you're ready, say 'expecto patronum' and flick your wand, at the wrist."

Flo thinks, her mind crossing over her last birthday with Fred and George, back to Christmas in her first year at Hogwarts. The whole train ride back to London was spent on the verge of tears. She'd missed her uncle so dearly that she could barely sit still. She ran, not caring if anyone saw, straight into Balthazar's arms, burying her face in his dark red robes. He squeezed her back tightly, kissing the top of her head gently.

She focuses hard on the feeling of hugging Balthazar, his arms filling her with a warm comfort. She gives Lupin a nod and he moves out of the way of her wand. "Expecto patronum!" Flo says, flicking her wrist and focusing hard on Balthazar. At the tip of her wand, a gleam of silver flickers, but peters out after only a few moments. Flo's shoulders sag, feeling the energy flowing through her hand and into her wand ebb.

Lupin claps, moving back towards her with a Chesire Cat smile. "Well done! That's a fantastic start," he says, tucking his hands into his pockets.

"Hardly," Flo frowns, staring down at her wand. Lupin chuckles, placing a hand on her shoulder, fleetingly, before drawing it back.

"Felicity, most wizards can't even produce what you just did in their lifetime. I assure you, for your first go, that was brilliant."

Flo tries again several more times, slowly, steadily producing a stronger light. Lupin watches on, offering advice and encouragement as he feels she needs it, until her brow is glistening and she begins to run out of gusto.

"Sit down a moment," Lupin instructs, sitting down across from her at his desk once more. He produces a piece of chocolate and hands her some with an expression she doesn't bother arguing with. Flo, weary but feeling satisfied with her progress, sets her raincloud eyes on Lupin.

"I remember you," she blurts, surprising even herself. Lupin stares, brown eyes widening at the girl. Lupin sets down the tea he took a sip from moments before.

"I wondered if you might have," he says eventually with a rueful smile. "You were so young, and it was such a short period of time."

"Were you friends with him?" Flo asks, fiddling with her wand to resist the surge of emotions she feels.

"I was," Lupin sighs, studying the girl. "It's late. This is, I think, a conversation for another time. Shall we say the same time next week?"

Flo's eyes smoulder and Lupin's heart twinges at the familiarity of her sharp stare. She finally nods and her usual guarded expression returns, crooked smirk and all. "Thank you for the lesson, Professor."

Much to Flo's surprise and subsequent disdain, Lupin fallsl ill and in his place, a particularly scathing Professor Snape takes their class instead. Ever since Neville's boggart had taken the form of Snape, he'd been especially vindictive and Felicity had racked up even more detentions than Fred and George combined over the last two months. The cauldrons in his office have never looked so clean after her efforts.

After taking 20 points from Gryffindor when Felicity points out that his chosen subject for the class - werewolves - he sets a two foot essay on the process a person undergoes to become a werewolf and the permanent side-effects of the condition. Through the entire class, Flo doodles on her parchment instead of taking notes, occasionally turning the page of her book, aware of the watchful leer of Snape.

"That was miserable!" Lee announces, walking alongside Fred and George. Flo, who has taken to using the secret passages between classes to avoid the stares of other students, doesn't stick around to hear Fred and George's response.

The next class, Care of Magical Creatures, brightens her day considerably. Much to Flo's excitement, Hagrid, at the encouragement of Dumbledore, has moved the fifth year class onto thestrals.

"Alrigh'," Hagrid begins. "Who 'ere knows what pulls the carriages from the Hogsmeade station to the castle?"

The other Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs exchange uncertain glances. Kitty, standing next to Flo, raises her hand.

"Thestrals, professor," she says and Hagrid claps his hands.

"Aye, tha's right, Kitty," Hagrid says. "The ministry reckons they're dangerous, but really, they're mad clever an' if you train 'em, they make great pets, really. I trained the herd that pulls the carts me-self."

Hagrid, blissfully, only sets the two chapters on thestrals to be read before the next lesson and Flo and Kitty don't waste any time on the walk back to the castle, an icy wind biting at their exposed skin, ushering in the first grey days of winter.

At 11 o'clock that evening, Oliver wood rounds up the members of the Gryffindor quidditch team. Fred, George and Felcity, occupying the best seats next to the fire, don't bother moving as Harry, Angelina and Alicia are ushered over by Oliver. Felicity pays little mind to Oliver, who warns them once again not to underestimate the Hufflepuff team and instead packs away her potions homework.

"I want everybody in bed now," Oliver announces.

"Yes, mother," Felicity teases, slinging her bag over her shoulder and following Angelina and Alicia up the stairs to their shared dorm. Much like the rest of the week, Flo's sleep is fitful, filled with hazy dreams of Lupin and quidditch. At breakfast the following morning, Flo sits down next to Oliver, who piles her plate with pieces of toast and some fried egg.

"Eat," he orders, while touching none of his own food. After a week of little sleep and extra quidditch practices, the chaser is beginning to look worn out, purple circles developing under her eyes, and her already unruly hair has become even worse, breaking every hairband Flo can get her hands on. Knowing that this will become a problem for her in the bitter rain the team will be playing in, she braids it, not bothering to even try keep it tidy and uttering a binding spell to keep the band fixed in place. Fred and George arrive last at the table, and help Felicity convince the pale captain to eat something himself.

Felicity realises as she steps out of the castle doors and into the ravenous rain, that she had underestimated the viciousness of the weather in the Great Hall. After only a few steps into the courtyard her robes are already soaked through and she has to grip her nimbus 1700 tightly to prevent the gale snatching it from her. Next to her, Alicia shields her eyes against the punishing raindrops. It seems, Flo decides, that this game would be a bitter one. In the changing rooms, Oliver tries to give the team a pre-match speech, but every time he opened his mouth he seemed to choke on his words. Felicity decides to speak for him.

"What Oliver is trying to say," she starts, standing up and patting him on the shoulder, "is that we're going out and playing to win. A little rain won't stop us from bringing home that cup. Remember, Fred, George; Diggory's got a bloody sharp eye, so keep him busy as best you can, and don't forget their keeper favours the left side, so keep right, if you can." Flo parrots off the instructions Oliver had been repeating all week, and Oliver looks as though he might cry. Fred and George cheer and, feeling good after her pep talk, Flo follows behind Harry and out onto the pitch.

The gale takes her by surprise again and Flo stumbles sideways slightly. The crowd can't even be heard above the whining of the gust. She watches as Wood shakes hands with Diggory, who smiles. Judging by his stiffened shoulders, Felicity doubts Oliver returned it. Madam Hooch's whistle blares out, piercing the storm's cacophony and the chaser kicks up, doing her best to steady her Nimbus against the wind.

A bludger hurtles out of the clouds at her and Felicity has to veer sharply to the left to avoid it. She flies towards their goal posts, dodging the bludger until George appears from the mist, batting it away, right towards Diggory. Angelina is speeding towards the goals, quaffle gripped tightly under her arm, she shoots, scoring. Felicity doesn't bother cheering in the storm, her hands practically frozen to her struggling broom. Instead, she flies between two Hufflepuff chasers, Alicia and Angelina flanking her. Always an aggressive player, Felicity crashes into the Hufflepuff chaser, who has to use both hands to stay on her broom with the force of Felicity's hit and the wind combined. The quaffle falls, but Alicia is there to catch it. Gryffindor scores the next two goals, but all the players are fighting with the wind to stay upright, and the game is a slow struggle.

A flash of lightning is followed by the blast of Hooch's whistle. Flo lands alongside Alicia and George, shivering and ringing out her hair underneath the large umbrella the team is sheltering under. Harry looks feeble under his sopping robes and his glasses are so wet that Felicity imagines he's flying almost completely blind.

"What's the score?" Harry asks, pulling his glasses off and squinting.

"We're up fifty points," Wood replies, looking bedraggled in his soaked clothes.

"I've got no chance with these on!" Harry says, brandishing his glasses in irritation. Felicity snatches the glasses from him and pulls out her wand, eyes lighting up at the genius of her idea.

"Impervious!" She shouts, mostly for the benefit of the others. Oliver, overwhelmed by emotion, grips Felicity's face and kisses her on the mouth. Fred and George hoot and Felicity's mouth drops in surprise.

"Let's go, team!" Wood shouts, looking pink in the cheeks, and Hooch blows her whistle again.

Despite the rain and cold, Felicity grins, weaving around the pitch with her team members, feeling optimistic about how this game would end. A flash of lightning illuminates the grandstands and she falters slightly. In the very topmost row of seats, sitting alone, is a big, black dog. Ignoring the strange presence, Flo turns to see Oliver yelling at Harry, who is chasing after Cedric.

The atmosphere shifts, and as an eerie silence settles over her ears, Felicity's gut twists. Tearing her eyes away from the game, she looks down to see a hundred dementors on the pitch, their scaly hands all pointing up towards - Felicity cries out as a body slams into hers, the force knocking her clean off her broom. She screams, Harry's shaggy hair whips her face as she grabs him as they fall. The ground - and the hungry dementors - seem to rush up to meet them. Felicity hugs Harry, closes her eyes and bracing for impact.

"ARRESTO MOMENTUM!"

The impact came, but only moments before it, their hurtling descent is slowed. Felicity's neck strains as her head hits the ground. Fighting to stay awake, she blinks, willing away the spinning in her head, trying to see what's going on. She can hear voices, but little is distinguishable above the storm. Through the haze in consciousness, Flo feels her body being lifted but the fuzziness in her mind becomes too great to fight and the girl's eyes flutter shut...


	7. Unusual Truth

"It looked like she broke his fall."

"It's a good thing the ground was so soft."

"Harry didn't even break his glasses, though."

Harry! Felicity's eyes snap open and she gasps. Standing at the foot of her bed, and the bed next to hers, are the other members of the Quidditch team, along with Ron and Hermione. Warm hands belonging to Angelina push her shoulders down as she fights to sit upright.

"Flo!" Fred and George cry, relieved. The twins look white underneath the thick layer of mud, while Ron and Hermione are sopping wet and Oliver is nowhere to be seen.

"What the fuck happened?" Felicity croaks.

"Harry fell off," Alicia explains.

"You broke his fall," Fred adds.

"Harry must've fallen about 50 feet," George says. "We reckon he caught you at about 30."

At this point, Harry wakes up, and the group explain what happened again. "Yeah but, did we win?" Harry asks, seemingly uninterested by his tussle with mortality. No one makes a sound, except Felicity, who makes a sort of strangled noise, using her un-bound arm to cover her eyes as she realises.

Despite falling almost half the distance of Harry's great descent, Felicity fractured both her collarbone and her shoulder blade. Even with Madame Pomfrey's great skill, her arm was incapacitated for the week following the accident. This made classes particularly difficult as the arm in question was her wand hand. To get around writing notes, Felicity acquired a quill that wrote as she dictated, much to Snape's great irritation, as he couldn't deduct points from the smug girl for talking during class.

Three weeks later, finally free of her sling, Felicity is summoned once more by Lupin. Despite their plans, her incapacitated arm made it impossible for them to continue lessons. Looking forward to their lesson, she heads up five minutes early. As she goes to knock, the door swings open and Professor Snape almost crashes into her.

"Watch where you're going, Black," he says, sweeping past her without another word. Felicity glares at his back, wondering how easy it would be for her to switch out his soap for some that dyed his skin green.

"Good evening, Felicity," Lupin calls after a few moments, an amused smile gracing his gaunt features. Flo sits down opposite him silently, her eyes falling on a goblet on his desk. A very faint blue vapour is misting up from the cup and the young girl frowns slightly. "I hope your arm is better?"

"Uh - yes, Professor. After the last Quidditch match, I'm eager to get this patronus in hand," Felicity says, dragging her eyes away from the goblet.

"Good, good. Take a moment to find your memory and focus. When you're ready, we'll try."

Much like the first lesson, Flo's initial attempt is little more than a wisp of vapour, but on her second attempt, refreshed by a grim determination, a brilliant white shield bursts from her wand. Though small and definitely not something that would repel a real dementor, the small achievement makes Flo shouts, the shield vanishing as her concentration is broken.

Lupin is clapping, laughing at her elation. "Well done!" He says, warmed by the wide smile and sparkle in her eyes, an expression he hasn't seen on her face since she was little when opening the door without assistance was an accomplishment all on its own. Over the next hour, Felicity's shield doesn't increase in size, but by the end, she could conjure it without having to try quite so hard.

Over the next two weeks, Felicity's mood only improves. The suspicions of her classmates begin to fade and, just as the first signs of snowfall arrive, she, alongside the rest of Weasleys - bar Ron - are boarding the train home for Christmas break.

"Do you think Charlie will be there?" Ginny asks. Felicity, curled up in the corner against the window laughs.

"Do you think Balt would be if Charlie weren't?" She retorts, stroking Aura's feathers.

"More importantly, are you still fawning over him, Flo?" Fred asks with a smirk. Flo rolls her eyes at him.

"About as much as you are over Skye Trimble," Flo retorts, laughing as Fred's cheeks go pink.

The Hogwarts Express begins to slow down and King's Cross comes into view. Felicity's heart swells and she gathers her things, including a roll of parchment with a haphazard scrawl - a quiet project she agreed to help Fred and George with - and a stack of exploding snap cards. The platform is crowded, and the witch struggles to see her uncle until she sees the towering form of Arthur Weasley. Sure enough, standing next to him, and grinning widely - Balthazar.

Felicity grins at her uncle. He looks as though he's just walked in from a dragon pen. Still clad in a sleeveless cloak impervious to dragon fire, with dragon scale gloves hanging from his pocket and glinting in the light. His toned arms are crossed over his chest, showing off an assortment of scars and tattoos. Standing next to Mr. Weasley, wearing an ill-fitting green robe and loose, beige pants, Balt looks especially weathered.

"Uncle!" Flo shouts, hauling her trunk over to the man and dropping it in favour of hugging him. He wraps his arms around her, squeezing her so tight her feet lift off the ground.

"Hey, kiddo," he says into her unruly hair. When Balthazar releases her, Felicity turns to the Weasleys, who have all made their way over Arthur and Molly. "We're going to the Leaky Cauldron for a night before we go to the Burrow, okay?" Balt says, when the group settles. Flo gives the Weasley's a final wave goodbye as they pass back through the barrier. Aura, who still refuses to be caged and only really stays inside when she's obligated to do so, flies on ahead to the Leaky Cauldron, leaving Balt and Flo to get a taxi.

"That owl of yours really has some issues with being told what to do," Balt says when they're settled into their rooms and are sitting in the kitchen. Aura is perched daintily on Flo's shoulder, accepting small bites of the meatloaf Flo offers her.

"Yeah, we have a mutual understanding," Felicity smirks, which makes Balthazar laugh.

"So, how was your first term?" Balt asks and Flo can feel his eyes searching her face carefully. Making an effort not to disturb her owl, Flo shrugs.

"About as it good as it could have been, obviously you know about me falling off my broom in the first quidditch match, and I imagine you also know that Sirius Black tried to break into the Gryffindor tower," Felicity says, casting her uncle a sideways glance.

"Yes, is there anything else I should know?" He asks, raising a single brow and staring Felicity down.

"Oh! I'm learning how to conjure a patronus. Dumbledore wants to make sure I'll know how to keep myself safe if I encounter a dementor in Hogsmeade or something." Flo says. Balthazar looks surprised, but only briefly. Aura hoots, nipping at a lock of Flo's hair that curls into her line of sight.

"It's not like you've ever turned down a challenge," he says, pointedly. Felicity smirks lopsidedly. "Did you have a chance to talk to Lupin?"

With a mouth full of mince pie, the witch can only nod. Balthazar nods as well and quiet engulfs the pair. His hair has grown shaggier since Felicity last saw him, though he suits it, paired with his leather cloak and heavy boots. She notices that his eyes flit up to look at her every few moments, subtle though it is, Felicity notices.

"What?" She asks after catching him for the third time. Balthazar widens his eyes innocently, but gives up quickly when his niece continues to stare narrowly. He heaves, rubbing his hand over his face.

"After I wrote to you, I had a look for all those stupid legal files the ministry dumped on me when I took you in. Anyway, the reason Lupin was the first person who took care of you is because he's your godfather."

Felicity, in the middle of scooping up peas with her fork, stills. Her grey eyes study his face, searching for any indication of a lie. Balthazar's own face in the beginning of a grimace, ready for the backlash of the young girl's quick temper. Felicity doesn't speak. Balthazar watches her carefully. Her knuckles have gone white, gripping the fork so tightly that it trembles, scattering the peas back across her plate.

Cutlery jingles as Felicity scrapes her chair away from the table and stands in a fluid motion. Aura protests, surprised by the change but Felicity ignores her, striding purposefully from the room without another glance back at her uncle.

That night, Felicity is unable to sleep, opting instead to pace out her frustration across the room. By now, she isn't even sure what she's really angry about, or who she's angrier at. Her whole life, an entire side of family has been kept from her, but was it really anyone's fault but her father? Tired and feeling increasingly confused, Flo heaves onto her bed, burying her face in a pillow as the first tears well in her eyes. The young girl cries, finally allowing to feel the barrage of emotions she's been resisting for months.

Blotchy face still damp with tears, Felicity calms at last. Despite feeling more tired than ever, she gets up, rummaging through her trunk and pulling out some parchment and a quill. In her messy scrawl, she addresses the letter; To my father.

Aura glides in through the open window, in time for Felicity to fold up the parchment and seal it. Felicity stares at a curious Aura for a few moments before offering the letter.

"If you can find Sirius Black, please give this to him. He's trying very hard not to be found though, so don't try too hard if you can't find him," she whispers, aware of her sleeping uncle next door. Aura hesitates before taking the letter with a soft hoot and takes off out the window.

The following morning, Felicity wakes before her uncle and doesn't bother waiting before heading into Diagon Alley. She rushes through buying Balthazar's gift before stopping in at Florean's ice cream parlour at the rumbling request of her stomach.

Deciding to get her potions homework out of the way while she waits for Balthazar to join her, Felicity orders a banana split and settles in. Midmorning, Balthazar appears, cautiously sitting across from the witch. Her eyes, still slightly bloodshot from the previous night, follow his movements.

"I appreciate you telling me Lupin is my Godfather, and I'm not mad at you anymore," Felicity says, offering a tight smile.

"Good, I'm glad we can move past that. You ready to go shopping?"

That evening in the living room of the Burrow, Ginny is curled up on the couch with a book, enjoying the escape from the chill of winter in front of the fire, wisps of crimson hair floating in front of her face. The house is mostly quiet, the absence of Ron and his friends making all the difference. In the other room, Mr and Mrs Weasley are sitting with Charlie and Bill, the former of which having arrived only an hour ago.

CRACK! Ginny screams as Balthazar and Felicity appear in front of her. Felicity tumbles away from her uncle in a mess of dark curls, her trunk falling deftly to the ground.

"Shit," she says, bracing her hands against her knees, looking particularly green.

"Language, Felicity," Balthazar sighs before offering Ginny an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Ginny, didn't mean to scare you."

At that moment, the door bursts open and Mrs Weasley rushes in, closely followed by Mr Weasley. "Ginny? What happened?" Mrs Weasley asks, eyes sweeping over her daughter in a panic, before noticing Felicity and Balthazar. Her wide eyes soften slightly. "Oh my! Balthazar, you gave us a bit of a scare."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Balthazar says, scratching the back of his neck. "I was hoping for the front door..." Balt trails off as the group hears thundering steps, followed by voices.

"Ginny? Is that Flo?" Fred asks, reaching the bottom of the stairs, closely followed by George.

"Flo!" George says, pushing past Fred to get to her first with a grin. "We got the stuff on the list -"

"For that Christmas gift," Fred interrupts, elbowing George for good measure. Felicity is about to reply, but the room gets smaller again as Bill and Charlie file in from the kitchen.

"How's that arm, Flo?" Charlie asks, pulling her attention from his younger brothers.

"Charlie!" Felicity exclaims, rushing over to give the older ginger a hug. "My arm's totally fine, the scar is bloody gnarly, though," she says, not sounding the least bit bothered by this fact.

"What happened to your arm?" Mrs Weasley asks with a frown. Charlie and Balt exchange guilty expressions over Felicity's head.

"Never mind that," Charlie says, quickly. "I was just about to tell Mum and Dad about the Ridgeback that almost burnt down the hatchery."

Mrs Weasley frowns at the men, but follows as Charlie ushers the adults back into the kitchen. Fred and George exchange smirks as Felicity eagerly follows as well. Despite her eagerness to stay with them after dinner, Fred and George drag her away from the rest of the family with some furious whispers, unconcerned by their smirking older brothers.

"I'd put ten galleons on Fred," Bill announces in their absence and Charlie laughs.

"Merlin's ass, George has it in the bag. You're on," Charlie replies, shaking hands with his older brother.

"I'd like to think she remains as repulsed by boys as she was when she was six," Balthazar says pointedly, though his serious expression is quickly replaced with a tired grin.

"Have you guys seen Aura?" Flo asks as they walk up the stairs.

"No? Did you send her here?" George asks. Felicity frowns thoughtfully, a spike of worry lodging into her heart.

"I guess not," she says quietly.


	8. Christmas at the Burrow

The morning of Christmas welcomes a thick layer of powdery snow. Felicity, who is sleeping on the floor in Ginny's room, is awoken by the girl in question.

"Flo! Flo, your owl's at the window!" Ginny says excitedly. Felicity frowns, cracking her eyes open and looking around in confusion.

"What... wait - did you say Aura's at the window?" Felicity sits up, nearly knocking Ginny over as she flings the blankets off and rushes over to the window. Sure enough, her speckled owl is flying loops in front of the window and screeching. Flo cringes and opens the window, closing her eyes against the rush of cold air Aura's wings create.

"Merlin!" Ginny cries and Flo opens her eyes again, falling on the package the ruffled Aura is perching next to. Though wrapped in brown paper, the package is unmistakeable - a broom. Felicity drops onto her bed next to it and stares up at Ginny with wide eyes. Tied to the package with twine is a note and written in an almost indistinguishable scrawl are two words:

 _For Felicity_

Felicity knows immediately who it's from. Anxiety twists at her stomach.

"Are you going to open it?"

"Not til later, please don't tell anyone," Felicity says firmly, unsure if she should open it at all. Ginny looks confused, but doesn't argue. "Anyway, merry Christmas!" Felicity grins. Ginny smiles broadly.

"Merry Christmas, Flo!" She says. "Oh, I made you something," Ginny says, reaching under her bed and pulling out a small package. Felicity's face falls slightly as she accepts the gift.

"That's so sweet, Ginny, thank you," the older girl says, looking rueful. "I'm really sorry, I didn't get you anything," she says. Ginny's smile falters but regains enthusiasm almost immediately.

"That's okay, my gift isn't really much," Ginny says, a blush colouring her cheeks. Felicity unwraps the gift, feeling guiltier with each tear of the wrapper. Ginny's gift is a thin bracelet with three dragon scales dangling from the strip of leather. Felicity grins widely and hugs the young girl.

"It's brilliant, Ginny," Felicity says.

Down in the living room, The Weasleys, alongside Balthazar and Felicity, open their presents after breakfast. Felicity, still dressed in shorts and a baggy Holyhead Harpies shirt, laughs as Fred opens a package from her with a tiny cartridge of fireworks that explodes in his face with a loud 'pop'. Balthazar puts on his best stern expression as Fred shoves the laughing Gryffindor playfully.

From Balthazar, Felicity receives a petrified dragon egg which still holds an iridescent glow in the light, a purple sweater with a golden 'F' from Mrs Weasley and from her favourite twins, a selection of pranking equipment and some new quidditch gloves. By lunch time, the atmosphere is calm and cosy, the family relaxing in front of the fire in the living room. Ginny sends Felicity a few persistent looks. Trying to be as subtle as possible, Felicity draws Fred and George up to Ginny's room.

"Why are you acting all suspicious?" Fred questions, narrowing his eyes at the girl, the fireworks incident still fresh in his mind. Felicity sits down on her bed and pulls out the package from under her bed. Fred and George guffaw.

"Who got you a broom?" George exclaims, reaching out to grab the package. Felicity snatches it back quickly, giving the twins a meaningful stare.

"The note doesn't have a name," Felicity says, showing them the small card.

"Oh," they chorus and Felicity rolls her eyes.

"I don't know that I should open it," she explains, fiddling with the twine on the package.

"Why, do you think he cursed it?" Fred laughs. The chuckle dies on his lips, though, at Felicity's exasperated stare.

"Oh."

"Yeah, dipshit," Felicity huffs.

"Hey!" Fred protests and George snickers.

"C'mon, Flo, what would he have to gain from that?" George reasons. Felicity is silent, staring down at the unassuming package. Finally, abruptly, Felicity tears open the package, revealing the chestnut coloured wood underneath. The new bristles are stiff and chocolatey in colour and it smells of the pine wax used at Quality Quidditch Supplies on new brooms.

"Holy fuck."

"Bloody hell!"

Painted on the hilt in glowing gold is the world 'FIREBOLT'. Felicity squeals, grabbing George's arm in excitement, earlier concerns entirely forgotten in the presence of the broom.

Felicity continues to yell as she races ahead of the twins down the stairs and into the living room, drawing the attention of the entire household as she runs through, heading straight for the door, Fred and George hot on her heels.

She stands in the field behind the Burrow, still in her pyjamas, gripping the sleek broom, prepared to mount -

"Felicity Black! What in Merlin's name are you doing?" Balthazar yells, running over to the trio as the rest of the Weasley's file out into the soft snow. Felicity huffs and relaxes her grip slightly as she faces her uncle silently. His eyes scan the broom and widen as he makes the connection. "Where did you get this?"

Felicity remains silent and Balthazar shakes his head. "Felicity, do you know who this is from?" Balthazar presses, gripping her shoulder. "Because if you think what I think, then I can't let you ride this broom."

A ripple of understanding spreads through the rest of the Weasleys. Mrs Weasley steps forward and extends her hand for the broom. "We must make absolutely certain that it's safe to ride, Felicity."

The young girl searches the faces of Balthazar and Mrs Weasley, behind her the concerned frowns of Charlie and Mr Weasley with an unreadable expression on her face, torn between respecting them and kicking off on the fastest broom in the wizarding world.

"Felicity, no -" Balthazar yells but it's too late, Felicity leaps away from the group and mounts the broom at a run, taking off with a shout of surprise. Fred and George whoop and cheer as she does a loop, the wind whipping at her skin, raising goosebumps along her bare legs and arms. The broom practically vibrates underneath her hands, responding to her every touch with a veracity Felicity had never experienced. She shoots up into the sky, barely noticing the cold in her elation as she shouts with glee, dropping the broom into a nose dive and speeding back to the ground, stopping metres from the mud.

Balthazar has his hands pressed to his head as stares at her with a gaping mouth and Felicity's elation withers under his cold stare. She lands delicately, swinging the broom over her shoulder and grinning widely, hopefully, as she approaches the group.

"I have never been so disappointed in you in my life," Balthazar starts, but hesitates as her face drops. "Merlin's balls," he sighs, opening his mouth several times but unable to form the words until he grabs her tightly, hugging her fiercely. "Don't you ever scare me like that again."

Back in the Burrow, Balthazar is quick to take the broom into the kitchen. Charlie puts a hand on the younger girl's shoulder, holding her back behind the group. His face breaks into a grin and he whistles quietly. Felicity smirks impishly at the redhead.

"You've got some balls, Flo," Charlie says, shaking his head.

In the kitchen, Felicity watches with baited breath as Balthazar and Mr Weasley utter counter-curses and anti-jinxes. The broom vibrates slightly with each spell, but nothing happens. Felicity high fives Fred and George as Balthazar and Mr Weasley put away their wands, having performed every spell they could think of to check.

"Okay," Balt sighs, rubbing his forehead. "So far, nothing seems out of the ordinary, but you're not to fly it without an adult watching from the ground, and I'll be keeping it with me when you're not using it."

Felicity opens her mouth to protest but Balthazar shoots her a sharp glare, silencing her. The afternoon is spent playing quidditch, Charlie and Bill joining in with Fred, George and Felcity. Much to the twins' annoyance, she and Charlie make up one team and, armed with her new broom, the Black flies circles around the others. On the ground, staying warm with a small fire in a jar, the rest of the Weasley's - including a frustrated Ginny, watch. Only Mrs Weasley holds onto a brooding expression after Felicity's stunt. Felicity admits to Fred and George during a small break in the game, that she had been sure that Balthazar would curse her into next year when she landed.

As the evening descends, the family retires into the living room for butterbeer and, in the adults' case, firewhiskey. Despite the broom fiasco, the mood is cheery and it isn't long before Felicity is fast asleep on the old couch, leaning into George's shoulder, feet tucked under her legs and an unusually peaceful expression gracing her thin features.

That night, Felicity dreams of Lupin again, in a house she doesn't recognize, playing with a shaggy black dog. Lupin looks healthier, happier. The house is silent when Felicity wakes with a start, the only light coming from the last dregs of glowing embers in the fire. It's late, nearing midnight when Felicity creeps up the stairs and into Ginny's room. She watches the young girl sleep, fiddling with the bracelet Ginny gave her that morning and, in the spur of the moment, shakes the girl awake.

"What's going on?" Ginny asks, befuddled from sleep. Felicity presses her finger to her lips and grins.

"I have a gift for you, Gin," she says, quietly opening her trunk and pulling out her old Nimbus 1700. Ginny gasps, clasping her hands tightly over her mouth. Felicity extends her beloved broom to the young girl with a twinge. She'd miss her old broom, though, she reasoned, thinking of the ridiculousness of the Firebolt, not for long. Ginny throws her arms around Felicity, who chuckles quietly.

"Thank you so much!"

"I trust you'll use it well, now, let's get some sleep. Merry Christmas, Gin."

"Merry Christmas, Flo."

The rest of the week flies by and Felicity finds herself back on Platform 9 ¾, hugging Balthazar goodbye. Mrs Weasley hugs her, somewhat reluctantly, still unimpressed by her stunt on Christmas day. Aura, who has barely left her perch in Ginny's room since arriving on Christmas morning, ruffles her feathers and twitters impatiently, ready for the warmth of the train.

"Listen, Flo," Balthazar says quietly, gripping her arms firmly to ensure her attention. "Please, please, be careful. You're the most fearless person I know, but please, for me, exercise some caution, I want you back in one piece in June."

"I'll try," Felicity agrees with a tight throat, hugging him one more time before climbing into the train to find Fred and George.

On the train, her thoughts drift to her dream of Lupin while she writes a potions . Her Godfather. Felicity frowns, mouthing the word to try it on for size. It feels wrong in her mouth. She remembers seeing him after he was off sick before Christmas - he looked haggard, even thinner than before and his pallor seemed ghostly.

"Merlin's balls!" She exclaims suddenly, making Fred and George jump, staring at her with wide eyes.

"Bloody hell, Flo," Fred laughs. Felicity recovers, smirking at the twins before settling back down.

"Gotcha," she says convincingly, but her mind is reeling, having remembered the blue vapour of the potion he'd been drinking during her lesson. She could only think of one potion with that kind of vapour,and when she pairs it with Snape's uncharacteristically easy essay on werewolves... Felicity refrains from laughing, the symptoms are obvious, now and she feels a little stupid for not thinking of it earlier. Her Godfather is a werewolf.


	9. The White Dog

Back in the comforting warmth of her dormitory, Felicity and Hermione, who has suddenly become thoroughly invested in spending every spare moment with the older Gryffindor, are alone, catching up on the events of the holiday. In her absence, Harry too had received a Firebolt, only to have it confiscated by McGonagall. Felicity doesn't comment on how the professor found out about it in the first place, taking note of the disdainful comments Hermione would throw in about her two friends. The two eventually fall into a comfortable silence.

Hermione shifts, leaning against the wooden frame of Felicity's bed, a roll of parchment pressed on the hard cover of a book. Her tawny eyes dart from her parchment over to the other girl, sitting cross-legged with a book perched in her lap. It doesn't take long for Felicity to notice Hermione's shifting attention. Slowly, she raises her head to watch Hermione, quirking one eyebrow expectantly.

"Oh," Hermione flushes, noticing Felicity waiting. "Can I tell you something?" She asks after another moment of silent. Felicity eyes Hermione suspiciously, as much as she likes the girl, Felicity isn't sure she'll be able to tolerate it if she has to listen to a 13 year old gush about a prepubescent third year.

"If it's about boys, please don't," Felicity replies, almost laughing as Hermione's widen before she wrinkles her nose.

"No - it's actually about Professor Lupin..." Hermione hesitates again, eyes darting down before reconnection with Felicity's penetrating stare. "About the classes he's missed."

"Oh my God." Felicity lurches forward, gripping Hermione's arms tightly. "You know."

"That he's a werewo-"

"Shut it, Hermione!" Felicity hisses, peering out behind the curtains on her bed and scanning the empty dormitory. Hermione, with wide eyes, looks around as well.

"So you know?" She asks, watching as Felicity whispers a muting charm over the four-poster bed before relaxing back into her pillows.

"Snape gave him a wolfsbane potion just before I went into his office one night," Felicity explains, twirling her wand in her hand with a small smirk.

"I figured it out when I was using a lunar calendar for Astronomy," Hermione explains and Felicity notes the pride in her tone. Though she would never say it to her, Flo cannot help but be impressed by the girl.

"You understand how important it is not to say anything, right?" Felicity asks, sitting forward again. "If it gets out, parents are going to make him resign. People don't trust werewolves, and he's the best teacher we've had in years."

Hermione doesn't stay for much longer as other fifth year girls start to file in, casting bemused eyes over the muted pair. Felicity leaves with her, heading into the common room, walking by Fred and George, who are playing exploding snap with Lee. She doesn't bother to tell him the twins have charmed the deck to explode every time touches them, only smirking at George, who notices and winks back. Felicity doesn't feel particularly jovial, however.

Ever since the last quidditch match, and Oliver's kiss, the two had been hard pressed to find each other in the same room. Fred and George, to begin with, found this especially entertaining, but, in fear of the wrath of their fierce friend, are quiet on the matter. With the next match approaching fast, Felicity finds herself having to swallow the twisting discomfort of having to face him. Oliver is found on the other side of the common room, nose buried in a book labelled 'Quidditch Tactics'. She feels bad for him, really. His desperation to win, it seems, is beginning to drive the seventh year loopy.

"Hey, Oliver," Felicity greets, sitting down opposite him with her best attempt at a comforting smile. He sets his book aside and clears his throat. Felicity notices he averts his eyes, shifting in his seat slightly. Normally she'd be inclined to let him work it out on his own, but her desire to share her news of a new broom overcomes her will to avoid the issue.

"Hey, Felicity," Oliver says, linking his fingers and glancing around. Felicity says nothing for a moment, arranging her words in her mind before speaking, studying the dark-haired captain.

"Okay, we gotta talk about this," she sighs eventually. Oliver huffs out a breath he'd been holding and nods.

"Look, Flo. I really like you... but," Oliver pauses as Felicity's eyes widen slightly, "I just don't see you that way. You know how it is during a game –"

"Shit, Oli," Felicity interrupts, holding up her hands and shaking her head. "I honestly thought I'd be coming over here to give you the same speech. Don't even worry about it," she says with a choppy laugh, feeling taken aback. If she'd known he'd been avoiding her because he didn't want to do anything about their kiss, she'd have told him straight away. Oliver leans back in his chair and grins as well.

"Merlin, that's a relief," he says, leaning forward again.

"Never mind that now, I have something important to tell you," Felicity leans in, encouraging Oliver to do the same. Felicity watches Oliver as she informs of her new secret weapon. His almost permanent frown deepens as she dawdles around the news, enjoying the suspense before finally dropping the word – Firebolt.

Oliver shouts, standing up in his chair and almost knocking Felicity back in his excitement. Most of the Gryffindors turn to look at them, Fred and George snickering quietly. Slowly, Oliver returns to his seat, thin lips pulled into an 'o' that won't soften.

"Only the Weasleys know, and I've sworn them to secrecy. I don't want to deal with people pestering me about it before the match. I'll leave it to you to tell the rest of the team, but make sure no one else knows."

All through the cold January, Felicity had managed to avoid Professor Lupin, every time he'd tried to make a time for another lesson, an excuse to postpone would be her only response. Now, as one icy month bleeds into another, Gryffindor's Quidditch match against Ravenclaw approaches and Felicity knows it can't be put off anymore.

All the way down from her dorm on the first Tuesday evening of Febuary, Felicity drags her feet to Lupin's office. It was one thing to have stayed briefly with him as a child, but since Christmas, one question continues to pester her. If he was her intended guardian, why didn't he take her in?

Despite Felicity's trepidations, the lesson goes well. Her milky shield becoming stronger and brighter every time she conjures it. During a break, Felicity is sitting across from Lupin at his desk, watching has he grades some first year homework, her mind flitting through all that she's learned about the man recently.

"Was it because of him?" Felicity blurts out. Lupin looks up, furrowing his brows as he studies her.

"I don't understand," he says cautiously. Felicity holds his eyes for a moment, briefly regretting opening her mouth.

"Is it because of my father that you didn't let me stay with you?"

Lupin opens his mouth to speak, but words escape him. His eyes are soft, crestfallen. This only serves to irritate Felicity.

"I know you're my Godfather. You and he were close, and Dumbledore wanted me to stay with you,but you.." Felicity trails off, falling back into the memory from her dream before squaring her shoulders. "You didn't want me."

"No." Lupin says immediately, shaking his head vehemently. "I couldn't let you stay with me because," Lupin sighs heavily, rubbing his forward as he reaches an impasse. Felicity's eyes widen and she sits back in her seat, a realisation dawning that makes her feel stupid.

"You were bitten before that?" She says quietly, but Lupin's head snaps back up to look at her with a strange expression.

"You know?" He asks with a strangled voice. Felicity nods solemnly, realising the new territory she's just crossed into with the man.

"I do. I won't tell a soul, don't worry."

"How did you find out?"

"Wolfsbane. It's the only potion I know with such a rich blue vapour," Felicity replies with a shrug, folding one leg over the other and weaving her fingers together. Lupin nods slowly, a small smile gracing his face.

"I should've known you'd figure it out. You don't strike me as the type to miss anything," he says. Felicity can't help but smirk, an impish expression that tweaks Lupin's heart. "I wanted to, you know. If there was a way, I would have. I hope that you understand."

"I understand," Felicity nods, unsure of how to proceed.

"It's getting late, perhaps we should call it a night, Felicity. I want you to know though, my door is always open."

"LOOK!"

Felicity, Fred and George look up from their table in the common room, listening as thumping steps echo down from the boys' dorm. The hefty steps grow louder as Ron thunders into view, dragging in a sheet behind him. Felicity watches in mild interest as he parades over to Harry and Hermione a few tables along.

"LOOK! SCABBERS! LOOK!" Ron brandishes the sheet at Hermione, who is looking at him with a mixture of fear and confusion. Fred and George strain to see the sheet, but Felicity makes no such attempt, confident they'd find out anyway if he keeps yelling.

"BLOOD! HE'S GONE! AND DO YOU KNOW WHAT WAS ON THE FLOOR?" Ron bellows. Felicity sighs, rubbing her forehead as she begins to understand.

From there, their argument only escalates. Over the next few days, it was all she could do to avoid the two warring thirteen year olds, but found herself alongside Fred and George, trying to cheer him up.

"Come on, Ron," Fred begins receptively. "You were always saying how boring he was."

"He wasn't in good shape. It's probably better this way, one bite, he wouldn't have felt a thing," Felicity adds with a smile that looks more like a grimace. While she feels obligated to offer support to Ron, her lowly opinion of his dinky rat made it hard to sympathise.

"Flo!" Ginny chastises, who only shrugs in response.

"All he did was eat and sleep, Ron, you said so yourself," George points out.

"Just get down to Hogsmeade and by another rat," Felicity suggests, feeling her patience begin to wan. In the end, Harry offers to let Ron ride his Firebolt after their last Quidditch practice before the Ravenclaw match, which seems to do the job.

With the Firebolt at her disposal, Felicity, and now Harry since getting his own back, had become dominators during practice. It was all Felicity could do to hold back to let Alicia and Angelina get to handle the quaffle at all. Just as she'd planned, the only Firebolt the school knew about was Harry's – until the morning of the match.

Felicity, alongside Oliver, enters the Great Hall with the broom slung over her shoulder, smirking as, one by one, heads turn to see her with yet another Firebolt. Whispers ripple through the hall over breakfast as the rest of Gryffindor are left to ogle at the prestigious pair of brooms on display at the table.

Kitty comes over, looking affronted at being one of the last to find out about the broom, but bumps her fist against Felicity's with a proud little grin after studying the broom, making a note of how stable it is ("Daddy says that the Nimbus series develop a drag after a few years, you probably won't get any resistance with this Firebolt."}

Lee leans over to Felicity, eyes following Kitty as she retreats to her table after a final goodbye. "Bloody hell, she talks quidditch and she's gorgeous?" he says, looking back at Felicity with ruddy cheeks. Felicity smirks but doesn't comment on his ogling.

In the changing room, Oliver's spirits seem to lift. "Just – fly like you did last practice and we'll be okay. You know what we need to do," he says with a firm nod. Felicity flexes her hands in the gloves she'd gotten at Christmas, gold in colour rather than her old black ones.

Felicity stands next to George as the two teams line up on the pitch, watching as Oliver shakes hands with Davies – the Ravenclaw captain. Her stomach is fluttering, but as she mounts her broom, the golden 'Firebolt' engraving glints and Felicity smirks, glancing sideways at the twins.

Hooch's whistle pierces through the din of the crowd and Felicity kicks off, shooting up and grabbing the quaffle, taking off for the goals in a flash. Her first shot is deflected by the keeper, but she catches it again as he deflects it and tries again, slowing down long enough to aim.

Despite her new speed and agility, the Ravenclaws work to slow her down, cutting her off and boxing her out when they have the quaffle. Nevertheless, Gryffindor hold the lead, 50 points ahead. Harry, who Felicity breezes by every now and then, falls into a dive, followed by Cho Chang, only to pull up sharply. Felicity dodges a bludger, trying to keep one on Harry and follow Angelina, cutting off the Ravenclaw chasers that try to steal the ball.

Felicity catches the quaffle Angelina throws, racing ahead of the Ravenclaws to take a shot, but in her peripheral, far down on the ground, several hooded figures approach. The quaffle is deflected by Ravenclaw, but Felicity has pulled out her wand, focusing hard before shouting, "Expecto patronum!"

The Quidditch game momentarily forgotten, Felicity watches as her patronus, in the shape of what could only be a dog, bounds towards the dementors, closely followed by yet another patronus – a whispy stag. Felicity whirls around, looking for the source, in time to see Harry clasp his hand around a glint of gold. Felicity screams, her heart soaring as she hurtles into Harry, gripping him a tight hug, joined shortly by more crimson-clad bodies shouting and cheering.

They reach the ground in a tangled mess, Felicity turns to George, crashing into him for a hug, turning to do the same with Fred as people spill onto the pitch to celebrate. Though she can hear voices, very little can be made out, until she sees the approach of McGonagall, who has an expression of utter fury. A hand on her shoulder draws her attention. Much to her surprise, it's Lupin. He's smiling, but looks startled.

"An impressive patronus," he leans close to say over the chaos. Felicity nods but frowns slightly.

"It didn't feel like dementors," she says in earnest.

"That's probably because – well they weren't," he says, grabbing Harry's attention and leading them both from the crowd, towards McGonagall, who is shouting, though not from excitement.

"...A low and cowardly attempt to sabotage the Gryffindor Seeker! Detention for all of you,and fifty points from Slytherin! I shall be speaking to Professor Dumbledore about this, make no mistake! Ah, here he comes now!"

Felicity laughs as she watches the younger Slytherins try to remove themselves from the robe, struggling as they all move the fabric in different directions. Very little could improve her mood at this point, the victory well and truly marked by the blundering third years' impending misery.

"Come on!" George shouts, appearing at her side and looping his arm with hers. "Party in the common room!"

Instead of joining them, Fred, George and Felicity go straight to the humpback witch, where Felicity, still wearing her Quidditch gloves and mud-spattered boots, leads the way into Honeydukes. They rush to the Three Broomsticks, grabbing crates full of butterbeer and head back to the common room as fast as they dare with the precious cargo.

In the common room, Fred stands on a chair, tossing a fistful of peppermint pasties into the crowd while George and Felicity pass out drinks. The three dance alongside Alicia and Katie Bell, Felicity occasionally disappearing to let off some small firecrackers shaped like birds, that fly low over the group, much to the elation of the other Gryffindors.

Felicity, in a rare moment of bliss, is grinning from ear to ear, laughing alongside her friends. Not even Ron's snide comments about Scabbers can stifle her mood as she slings her arm over George's shoulder and throws out a fistful of Fudge Flies, laughing as Neville misses, it flying past his outstretched hand and landing on his nose before bouncing into his other hand. Felicity is sure that nothing can put a damper on her mood


	10. Animagus?

**Author's note!  
** ***Shout out to ImsebestianstanButter for the consistent reviews, you're a great encouragement 3***

 **I've decided that I'm going to continue this story through Goblet of Fire as a Part Two instalment to this story rather than post a new one. This is mostly to continue growing the following tbh, but also for ease of access for readers. More information soon.**

 **~IMPORTANT~ As we are nearing the end of part one (just a few more chapters to go) I have decided to put the opportunity forward to tell me what you'd like to see more of in the next part as I've only reached the early stages of planning for it, some things cannot be changed i.e if she finds love or not, but if you want to see more interaction with another character or more involvement in classes, don't hesitate flick me a suggestion via review. Happy reading!**

* * *

Felicity awakens with a start, fumbling around in the dark for the divide in her curtain. She can hear muffled shouting. Still fresh from sleep, it sounds as though her ears are underwater. Other girls in her dorm are stirring, but Felicity is already up, stumbling down the stairs in the dark to find the source.

In the common room, Harry, Ron, Neville and several other third year boys are there, arguing. Fred and George soon join the growing crowd, looking as though they hadn't even gone to sleep since the party was broken up early in the night.

"Are we carrying on then?" Fred asks, looking thoroughly pleased. Felicity notices Ron at this point, he's pale and his forehead is shiny with sweat. He looks as though he's seen a ghost.

"Everybody back upstairs right now!" Percy shouts, arriving into the confusion, pinning his Head Boy badge to his puffed out chest.

"Perce – Sirius Black! He had a knife," Ron says. The common room falls silent again. Felicity's gaze turns sharp, the fog of sleep dissipating instantly at the mention of her father.

"Nonsense," Percy says, though his expression is uncertain. "It must have been a bad dream."

Ron opens his mouth to argue, but the portrait hole swings open and –

"Now, really, enough's enough!" It's McGonagall in her tartan dressing gown, looking even less amused than she did when she came in to break up the party only a few hours earlier.

"This is getting ridiculous. Percy, I expected more from you," McGonagall frowns.

"I certainly didn't authorize this, Professor. I was just telling everyone to get back to bed. Ron here had a nightmare –"

"IT WASN'T A NIGHTMARE! SIRIUS BLACK WAS STANDING OVER ME WITH A KNIFE!" Ron shouts. McGonagall stares at the young redhead. Felicity doesn't stick around to hear the rest, disappearing back into her dormitory to collect her wand and some socks to put as it seems it would be awhile before she'd have an opportunity to sleep again. She pauses at the window next to her bed, noticing a shadowy movement across the lawn. Straining her eyes, Felicity presses her face against the glass to see better. The figure is hurtling towards the Dark Forest, passing under a glowing patch of grass and, illuminated by the moon, Felicity sees a big dog, just like the one she'd seen at the quidditch pitch before the dementors attacked. She frowns, but heads back down to the common room in time to see McGonagall crawl back through the portrait hole.

"Which person," she begins, her skin several shades more green than when Felicity left only moments before. "Which abysmally foolish person wrote down this week's passwords and left them lying around?"

Neville, with a strangled squeak, raises his hand. McGonagall leaves Percy with strict instructions to keep everyone inside the tower before she hurries off. Nobody bothers to return to their dorms, and Felicity seeks out Fred and George.

Ginny is quick to find them as well, leaning against Felicity on the settee she occupies, Fred and George sitting on the ground in front. The three of them have their heads close together, talking in tongues in front of Ginny.

"What about the humpback?" Felicity suggests, leaning forward. It's obvious to her that Black isn't walking through the front doors. More likely, he knows about a secret passageway and nobody in all of Hogwarts knows the secret ways in and out of the castle like them.

George shakes his head vehemently. "We'd have heard if there was a disturbance in Honeydukes," he argues. Fred nods in agreement. Felicity's mind travels back to the dog she saw, an idea tugging at her mind. She is quick to wave it off, blaming the lack of sleep on her wayward thinking.

At dawn, McGonagall returns to tell the students that their search has once again turned up a blank. Black had gotten away again. The next day, Felicity is perched on the stairs in the Entrance Hall, watching Flitwick teach the front doors to recognize a picture of Sirius Black. Dark ringlets brush the pages of her book, 'The Art of Animagi'. Fred and George have taken to trying to lighten the mood with jokes and tricks that even McGonagall is turning a blind eye to, and try as she might, Felicity's preference for quiet overwhelms her desire to help them on their mission.

Deciding that her theory is at least worth being heard, just in case, Felicity heads towards Dumbledore's office. The password, much to her satisfaction, is the same as it was on her last visit. At the door of his study, Felicity knocks.

"Come in," Dumbledore calls quietly. Felicity cracks open the heavy door and passes through with a cautious smile. "Miss Black," Dumbledore greets in surprise.

"I hope I'm not interrupting," Felicity says, creeping further into the study with the beginnings of regret.

"Not at all. How can I help you?" He asks, lowering the parchment he'd been studying.

"Well, after the incident last night," Felicity begins, squaring her shoulders and taking a breath before continuing. "Well, I had an idea. Nobody seems to be able to find him whenever he sneaks in, which means he's getting past the dementors as well. So – well I wanted to ask if you'd considered the possibility that he's an animagus?"

Dumbledore studies the girl from over his spectacles with twinkling blue eyes. "All animagi are registered, we would know if he was. That is, however, a very good thought, Miss Black," Dumbledore muses.

"Do you really think every animagus registers with the Ministry? From what I understand, it's a voluntary process and, given the advantages of being able to take another form, I doubt everyone registers."

Dumbledore is silent, though he has a soft smile, reminiscent of what Felicity assumes to be nostalgia. "You are quite right, Miss Black. I appreciate you coming to talk to me about your concerns. You know, you truly are a brilliant young witch."

Felicity doesn't stay long with Dumbledore, feeling unsettled that he seemed so unbothered by her idea. Perhaps it wasn't as realistic as she'd first assumed? She collects her book and heads to the only place no one will expect to find her – the library.

For the first half hour, it's quiet. Felicity manages to get through a good portion of the book on animagi before she first hears it. A sniffle and stifled sob, unmistakably feminine. Using her wand, Felicity shifts the books on the nearby shelf to investigate. Facing away from her, leaning against a stack of book, is a head of frizzy hair. Felicity sighs, sliding her book into her bag and walking around the shelf, placing a hand lightly on Hermione's shoulder.

She jumps, wide eyes searching to find the source, but relaxing as she sees Felicity. Grey eyes meet hazel and Felicity feels her gut twist. Her bloodshot eyes are circled with rings of purple, her bottom lip trembling as she allows Felicity to look at her.

"Merlin.." Felicity trails off, sitting down next to the girl. Hermione sniffles before throwing her arms around Felicity. She leans back in surprise as frizzy hair encompasses her vision, but hugs her back. "Is this because of Ron and Harry? Because so help me, I will jinx their asses into next year, those litte –"

"It's Buckbeak," Hermione whispers, pulling away and wiping her nose on her sleeve. Felicity frowns, thin lips pursing.

"Hagrid's Hippogriff?"

"His trial is coming up and I just can't focus on helping Hagrid, I have so much work to do but I promised I'd help," Hermione's voice grows shrilly as she explains, and Madam Pince begins to stalk towards then, her pruned face scowling at the disruption.

"Come on, let's go somewhere else," Felicity helps Hermione collect her things casting a small sneer at the librarian as they pass her, ushering her from the library with one last, longing look back into the quiet rows of towering shelves.

While they walk down into the Entrance Hall, Hermione explains the situation to Felicity, whose sneer steadily becomes more belligerent through the story. She leads Hermione down into the basement, still listening to her story.

Felicity stops in front of a stack of barrels and taps out a rhythm. Hermione's words die on her lips as she finally notices Felicity's actions.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Hermione asks a little frightfully.

"Stay here, I shouldn't be long," Felicity instructs as the barrels open to reveal a small passageway. Hermione watches in bewilderment as Felicity disappears down the passage.

The Gryffindor steps down into the Hufflepuff common room and smiles slightly. The whole room smells faintly of pollen and light pours in from the windows near the ceiling. Many Hufflepuffs look up, startled at her entrance. Kitty, who is sitting at a table with Cedric Diggory and two others Felicity doesn't recognise, stands and hurries over, ignoring the confused glances.

"Sorry, guys, I just needed to get Kitty," Felicity smirks impishly at the others, allowing Kitty to push her back into the passageway.

"Why can't you just owl me like a normal person?" Kitty chastises, but her grin is evident.

"That's no fun, besides, it's important," Felicity replies as they emerge from the barrels. Hermione is standing exactly where she was when Felicity left her, and a look of understanding washes over her face. "Hagrid needs our help."

Down at Hagrid's hut, the man in question and his Hippogriff are in his pumpkin patch. Felicity bows low to the animal, being careful to keep her expression soft as Buckbeak considers her for moment before bowing. Kitty repeats the process and the pair approach to pat him.

Felicity listens to Hagrid express his concerns while running her hands down his ashy feathers and across to his rump, admiring the flexing sinew underneath her hands, feeling his beak nuzzle at her hair.

"He'd never hur' a fly, ol' Beaky, but them committee members are goin' ta take one look at him an' tha'll be it for 'im," Hagrid says, pulling out a handkerchief the size of a small table cloth to blow his nose on. Felicity and Kitty exchange determined expressions before casting their gazes on Hagrid.

"We'll do everything we can, Hagrid, don't worry," Kitty assures, offering a reassuring pat on his forearm. Hermione visibly perks up after their visit with Hagrid and Felicity smiles, feeling glad that their support eases the weight she seems to be carrying around with her, certainly, Felicity wouldn't let Buckbeak suffer such an unfair fate.

Over the next weeks, Felicity spends every spare moment studying old legal cases and as the fifth years' homework begins to steadily increase, most nights are spent in the library until it closes. In the common room, she and Hermione share a table, trading books and notes on cases.

One evening, long after everyone else has gone to sleep, Felicity is curled on the chair next to the fire when George shivers down the stairs in his pyjamas, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he comes over to warm himself on the fire. Felicity closes the book, sucking absently on a sugar quill.

"You're up late," she comments dryly.

"I figured you would still be up," he says with a small smile. "How come you're so busy lately? Fred and I have barely seen you at all."

"I'm helping Hagrid with a Hippogriff problem," Felicity replies with a shrug.

"Flo –" George starts, looking troubled. "Are you okay? Like really okay?"

Felicity considers George, intrigued by his concern. "Do you mean because of Black?"

"Yeah."

"I mean, I guess so. I don't really know how I'm supposed to feel. It's strange though, because I don't feel... frightened of him like I know I should be."

"He is your Dad, after all. Maybe that makes more of a difference than you realise," George suggests thoughtfully. Felicity nods slowly, conceding that he is probably right.

"I wish he wasn't. I hate that it hangs over me. I look like him, apparently he was a bit of a marauder himself at school. Shit, I probably have similar mannerisms, too. May as well stamp 'Death Eater' on my forehead."

"I don't think you're like him, Flo. I don't think he'd lose sleep over a hippogriff the way you are, or stand by your friends the way that you do. You're a good person, Flo, the best I've ever met, actually," George insists, his voice quiet but determined. Felicity's resolute gaze settles on George for a long time, her stomach twisting in his presence.

"Thanks, George. Really." Felicity says with a gentle smile before standing up and collecting her things. "Let's go to bed."


	11. Avis

In the two weeks leading up to Buckbeak's trial. Felicity and Kitty trek down to Hagrid's hut every evening, even after Quidditch practice, laden with books and armfuls of parchment. Tonight, Hermione joins them, looking as exhausted as ever.

Hagrid is waiting in his hut with a fresh pot of tea. On the rug in front of the fire is Buckbeak, enjoying a fresh bowl of dead ferrets. Felicity sits down on the floor next to the hippogriff, who doesn't bother to look up from his food as she settles in. Kitty and Hermione sit at the table with Hagrid, who smiles down at Felicity and Buckbeak.

"I don't know what I'll do withou' Beaky ta keep me company," Hagrid sniffles into his handkerchief. Felicity watches as Hermione's eyes begin to water as well, but Kitty is quick to pat Hagrid's shoulder and squeeze Hermione's hand.

"He's not going anywhere, Hagrid," the blonde says firmly.

By the time the three girls are ready to leave, the crescent moon is nearing its peak above them. Hagrid hurries them from his hut, glancing into the darkness engulfing the grounds shiftily. Felicity trails behind Kitty and Hermione, enjoying the rare moment of piece the night brings, unaffected by the fear that tingles along the spines of her companions.

Felicity stops, straining her eyes to see into the bush next to the gravel trail. It rustles and a gleaming pair of eyes flash in the moonlight. She frowns, her mind wandering back to the black dog she saw the night Black broke into the Gryffindor tower.

"Felicity?" Kitty calls from ahead, finally noticing her absence.

"I'll be up soon, don't wait for me," Felicity says quietly, not taking her eyes off the bush. Felicity waits for her friends to get further away before she crouches down. "Hey there," she coos, extending her hand towards the glinting eyes. The bush rustles and the eyes are gone.

The following day, Felicity leaves the Great Hall early after dinner, waving goodbye to Fred and George and heading for the kitchens. Mitzi, Felicity's favourite house elf rushes to greet her.

"Felicity Black!" She cries, hugging her leg tightly. "Does you need food?"

"I do actually, if you wouldn't mind, Mitzi," Felicity says with a gentle smile. Mitzi nods rapidly, taking her hand and leading her further into the kitchens. "I need some meat, sausages, chicken, whatever you have."

Mitzi rushes around the kitchen as other house elves approach Felicity to say hello. Felicity, with Fred and George in tow, discovered the kitchens in their second year while hiding from Filch after setting off a barrage of dungbombs in the dungeons one evening. They'd been returning regularly ever since and Felicity knew almost every single elf in the castle.

Felicity emerges from the kitchens the same time as Kitty appears from the Hufflepuff common room, just down the hall from the portrait that hides the entrance. Kitty eyes the paper bag full of sausages suspiciously, but doesn't mention it as the pair head down to Hagrid's hut.

"I found a case from 1832, involving a Thunderbird. They won the trial," Kitty says, dropping her stack of books on Hagrid's table with a deft thud.

"They won because the Shaman who owned him conjured a storm in the courtroom until they conceded," Felicity says with a sigh, scratching Buckbeak's head as she passes him, heading for the stove to put on tea.

"I was hoping that particular aspect of the case wasn't common knowledge," Kitty frowns, resting her chin in the palm of her hand.

"Don' you worry, Kitty, we'll figure somethin' ou'."

Felicity waves her wand at the pot, uttering a spell under her breath to boil the water. Hagrid sets cups on the table for them and urges Felicity to sit down.

"I could probably let some ferrets loose in the courtroom, Buckbeak would have a field day and he'd clean them all up," Felicity suggests with an edge of sarcasm.

"Wha' 're we goin' ta do abou' Hermione? I 'ave half a min' to knock those two boys' 'eads together," Hagrid says to the two girls, ignoring Felicity's jibe and sipping from his bucket-sized mug. Felicity rolls her eyes, leaning back in her chair with a sigh.

"I'm not about to get involved in any of their business, I might end up in the middle of one of their bizarre adventures," Felicity scoffs, ignoring the warning glance from Kitty.

"I think the only thing to do is talk to them. They won't listen to either of us though, Hagrid."

The man in question nods, stroking his beard idly. The rest of the evening goes by in a blur of dates and lost cases. Kitty leaves before Felicity, who pretends to have lost a quill to put some distance between them before leaving as well. This time, Felicity walks slowly, eyes scanning the bushes for those glinting eyes.

Nothing, so Felicity crouches down on the dewy lawn and pulls out a sausage, breaking it in half and tossing it gently. It lands a few feet away and she waits, breathing as quietly as possibly. Moments pass before a bush a few feet down rustles and the wiry dog emerges.

"Hey there," Felicity murmurs as the dog creeps towards her, ears swivelling and eyes darting around the area. It crouches down, wolfing down the sausage in two swift gulps. Felicity pulls out the paper bag and extends another sausage with a soft smile. The dog takes it from her and Felicity is surprised at its gentle grab.

"You must be hungry," she whispers, sitting down in the dew and ripping the bag open, sitting it in front of her for the dog to eat freely. In a few minutes, all the food is gone, but the dog lingers, still crouched in front of her. He whines quietly, edging towards her and Felicity's heart twists in pity. "I'd take you inside if I could, but I don't think even Dumbledore would turn a blind eye to a dog as big as you," Felicity sighs, raising her hand slowly for the dog to sniff. His wet nose tickles her palm as he snuffles, only to rest his head in her hand, nuzzling into the hem of her sleeve.

Girl and dog stay like that for a few minutes longer, before the dog looks up suddenly, darting up and loping back into the bush, pausing for one last look at Felicity, still sitting on the damp grass in surprise.

The weather begins to clear just in time for the next Hogsmeade visit. Felicity, alongside Fred and George, are eager to get out of the castle before their mountain of homework starts to properly snow them in.

Kitty joins them in a rare moment of confidence as they find a booth in the Three Broomsticks, laden with sweets from Honeydukes and more firecrackers from Zonko's. Her golden blonde hair is pulled back into a neat ponytail, a polar opposite from Felicity, who barely finds the effort to brush the mass of curls, let alone wrestle them into a ponytail without the urging of a teacher.

"So you're supporting Gryffindor in the final, right?" Fred asks Kitty, who holds her hand over her chest, looking affronted.

"Well obviously," Kitty replies.

"No, Fred," Felicity pipes up with an eye roll. "She's supporting Dumbledore's left sock."

Kitty snickers into her cup while Fred and George chuckle loudly, gaining a few salty stares from older patrons at the bar. For the first time since making the team, Felicity genuinely believes they're in with a chance of winning, and, try as she might to ignore it, they probably owe at least a little of it to her father.

"Let's be honest about this though, Harry and I's Firebolts made all the difference last game," Felicity points out. Fred and George shake their head.

"I mean yeah, they're good brooms but a broom is only really as good as its rider," Kitty says earnestly. " _You_ make that broom look fantastic, not the other way around."

"They are bloody fantastic though," Fred adds with a sly smile. The group exchange hums of agreement, falling into a fit of laughter. Back at Hogwarts, Felicity is met in front of the doors by Aura. In her beak, a letter is clasped.

Aura perches on Felicity's shoulders while she, Fred and George walk up to the Gryffindor tower. In the common room, Felicity stands with her back to the fire, allowing the wafting heat to spread warmth across her back.

Felicity recognizes the uneven scrawl of Hagrid's hand immediately and her stomach jerks into her throat. Breathing in deeply, Felicity breaks the seal and unfolds the parchment. Fred and George's heads snap up at the sound a muffled sob.

Felicity tears up the letter, throwing it into the fire before storming up to the girls' dormitories, disturbing Aura so intensely the Owl takes off with a disgruntled screech. Tears fall freely down her face as she cries, sobs raking through her lungs. Felicity sits up, wiping her face roughly with her sleeve as her misery is overwhelmed by a burning fury.

She shoves open the lid of her trunk, rifling through her things aggressively until she comes across a worn piece of parchment. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good," she mutters, tapping the map with her wand. While Fred and George had given the original map to Harry, Felicity kept her replica of the map, though she didn't need it for directions, it came in handy when she needed to find someone.

Felicity's eye dart over the parchment until she finds the name she's looking for. She strides back into the common room, shrugging off her concerned friends as she climbs out the portrait hole. Unfazed, they follow her as she navigates the maze of stairs and corridors until they reach Entrance Hall. Felicity slows, keeping her head down as her steely eyes scan the room.

"Flo," George says, placing his hand firmly on her shoulder. "What's happened?"

Felicity ignores him, pointing her wand over the crowd to land on a thin, blonde haired boy. " _Avis Oppugno,"_ she hisses, shoving her wand back into her pocket as a little flock of birds bursts from the end of her wand, speeding towards Malfoy, who shouts in surprise as they scratch and peck at his skin, circling his head. He cries out, flailing around until Professor Snape rushes down the stairs, vanishing the birds with a silent flick of his wand. Felicity, closely followed by wide-eyed Weasley twins, slips into the Great Hall, just in time for dinner. Fred and George flank her, sitting either side with expectant expressions.

"What was that all about?" George asks. Felicity sighs, stabbing a potato with her fork with such veracity that it rattles her peas. The birds hadn't managed to satiate her desire to cause the conniving third year pain, though at this moment, Felicity couldn't be sure anything would.

"It's all his fault. I worked so hard with Hagrid to make sure Buckbeak wouldn't lose the case, but he did anyway and it's all because of that slimy twat. He's lucky I didn't hex him."

Fred and George place comforting hands on her back, saying nothing more on the matter. Felicity gives them both a grateful smile and tries to ease the tightness in her throat with her pumpkin juice.


	12. The Quidditch Final

The Easter holidays mark the beginning of pre-exam time. The castle grounds have flourished in the warm weather, but with the influx of homework from all the professors, Felicity barely has time to even daydream about going outside. Even Fred and George start joining her at a table with their own mountainous homework.

On top of the homework, Oliver has been insisting on practice every day; with only two weeks until the Quidditch final, it's become impossible to sit down without spending at least half an hour discussing tactics.

After every practice, Felicity sneaks back down to the edge of the Dark Forest to feed the black dog. Though his wiry hair is still matted and his ribs jut out under his skin, the dog waits for her every evening in the shadows of the forest, wagging his tail and licking at her hands when she comes.

With the approaching match, tensions begin to rise between the competing houses, Felicity, Fred and George earning a detention after a scuffle in the wake of a Slytherin 6th year trying to push Harry down the stairs. The anticipation for the match spills out into every aspect of Felicity's day. In retaliation of the Slytherins' attempts to sabotage Harry, she and the twins do their best to make the Slytherins as uncomfortable as possible. By the night before the match, the three had completely run out of dungbombs and firecrackers. They'd even managed to add to Filch's "Prohibited Items" list after their Ever-Bashing Boomerang knocked Pansy Parkinson clean off her feet, which, as Fred had pointed out when McGonagall mentioned it with a not-so subtle glare in their direction, was a first for them.

Felicity is so full of nervous energy that she can barely keep still, opting instead to conjure birds and run about the common room playing with them. Oliver sits in a corner with his scale model quidditch field and prods little figures about with his wand, muttering to himself.

"Team! Bed!" Oliver shouts suddenly, standing up from his spot and marching Harry, Fred and George up the winding stairs that lead to the boys' dormitories. Felicity falls into step with Angelina and Alicia, vanishing the little birds without looking back. That night, the young girl's sleep is fitful, occupied by an unusual dream of a black dog on a broomstick.

Felicity arrives in the common room last the next morning, her Firebolt slung over her shoulder. Flanked by Fred and George, Felicity follows Oliver and the rest of the team down to the Great Hall, where they're greeted by cheers spanning over three of the four tables. Try as she might, Felicity can barely bring herself to pick at her toast as waves of queasiness ruin her appetite.

Oliver, who looks even worse than Felicity feels, hurries the team from the hall before everyone else. The hall erupts into applause as the group leaves and, despite her nerves, Felicity smirks.

Oliver paces the pitch, his team following behind. Felicity, Alicia and Angelina huddle together to establish a plan. The sky is clear and the morning sun gleams over the pitch. In the changing rooms, nobody speaks. Even Oliver is too overcome with anxiety to speak. Felicity's nerves are worse than ever, hands shaking in anticipation as they walk onto the pitch to be greeted by deafening cheers. Gryffindors, Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs alike are all clad in red, holding "LIONS FOR THE CUP" banners and waving flags.

"Here come the Gryffindors!" Lee shouts, who, as usual, is sitting in the commentator's booth. "Potter, Black, Johnson, Spinnet, Weasley, Weasely and Wood. Widely acknowledged as the best team Hogwarts has seen in…"

Felicity doesn't catch the rest of Lee's comments as the 200 Slytherins erupt into howls of disapproval.

"Captain Flint of the Slytherin team seems to have adjusted his lineup, going for size rather than skill…"

Once again, Slytherins drown out Lee's words, though, as Felicity sneers over at the group, she can see what Lee means, Malfoy being considerably smaller than the rest of the brawny players. Flint and Oliver shake hands, Hooch's whistle blows and Felicity kicks off into the air, shooting past Warrington's hand and scooping up the quaffle. Felicity speeds towards the goals, but as Montague and Warrington close in on either side, she tosses the quaffle to Alicia, only to have Warrington knock it out of her hands. A bludger, courtesy of George, hurtles into Warrington's side and the quaffle slips from his grasp. Felicity is there in a flash, grabbing the quaffle and flattening herself against the Firebolt, turning sharply to avoid a bludger and shooting the quaffle into the goal.

"SHE SCORES! TEN-ZERO TO GRYFFINDOR" Lee cries into the mic as the crowd erupts into cheers. Felicity shouts triumphantly, doing a quick victory loop around the goals –

Whoosh! Flint knocks into Felicity. The Firebolt shudders sideways and Felicity loses grip on the handle. For a moment, panic gurgles in her throat as she slides on the broom without a grip, but recovers quickly, in time to see Fred hurl his club at Flint.

Flint's nose smacks against his broom with a crunch and begins to bleed. Madam Hooch skids to a halt between them, shrieking. "Penalty shot to Gryffindor for an unprovoked attack on their Chaser! Penalty shot to Slytherin for deliberate damage to _their_ chaser!"

"Come off it!" Felicity cries out, glaring viciously at Flint, who smirks. Hooch blows her whistle and Angelina flies forward to take their penalty. The crowd is quiet as the teams gather around to watch her take the penalty with baited breath. With a surprising amount of ease, Angelina swerves around the keeper and lands the quaffle in the hoop. Felicity screams, reaching over to give Angelina a hi-five as they turn to watch Flint face off with Oliver. Keen as a hawk, Oliver repels the quaffle with his broomstick.

The match begins to descend into a dirty game as Gryffindor score their way into the lead. Alicia's head is grabbed by Montague, who very nearly rips her from her broom as he attempts to dislodge it from her neck. Angelina takes the penalty, and Lee, getting caught up in the tension, begins to shout, "THIRT-ZERO! TAKE THAT, DIRTY, CHEATING-"

McGonagall is quick to interrupt, but Felicity is distracted as she sees Harry shooting towards the Slytherin end, Malfoy quick on his heels. Felicity is so busy watching that she's too late to try and steal the quaffle from Flint, who scores. Lee swears, loudly.

Next, Alicia is hit in the head with Bole's club, and Felicity, in a rage, uses her broom like a jousting pole and rams into Bole's side. Both teams are awarded penalties, Wood once again saving, and Felicity easily out-manoeuvring the Slytherin keeper to add another ten points to Gryffindor. The game resumes and Felicity takes possession again, scoring quickly. Fred and George swoop around her with their clubs raised, just in case Slytherin try to take out their frustration again. The Slytherin beaters use the opportunity to send both bludgers hurtling into Wood, one after the other. Felicity hares over to Oliver, propping the winded keeper up while he catches his breath while Madam Hooch shrieks at Bole and Derrick. Felicity has to resist the urge to take Fred's club and beat them with it. Angelina scores.

Warrington takes the quaffle, but Fred is quick to knock it from his hands with a bludger. Alicia takes the quaffle and scores. Felicity screams, looping around her protectively while she cheers, being careful to keep her distance from the Slytherins, who all bear expressions with varying degrees of malice.

Sixty points in the lead, Felicity's confidence begins to soar, all they needed now is for Harry to catch the snitch. Felicity sees Harry burst upwards and cheers, ducking in front of Flint to cut him off from the goal.

That's when she sees it. Malfoy has launched himself forward on his broom, holding on to the bristle end of Harry's Firebolt with a glinting grin.

"Penalty! Penalty to Gryffindor!" Hooch screeches, Felicity circles around Malfoy like a shark size up its prey, but refrains from hitting, choosing instead to yell.

"YOU FILTHY TWAT. WATCH YOUR FUCKING BACK, MALFOY!" she screams at the sneering Malfoy. Even McGonagall is too enraged to rein in Lee, who is screaming obscenities over his microphone. Alicia takes the penalty, but is so furious she misses the goals completely.

Felicity circles the other players, the Firebolt vibrating under her tense hands. Montague scores next, but Felicity takes the ball and leaves her teammates behind, leaning low on the broom and skirting ahead of the Slytherins, who are all closing in on her. She pulls up sharply, above the keeper and lobs the quaffle through a goal.

"SHE SCORES! Gryffindor leads by eighty – twenty!"

Harry, who had flanked Felicity through her whole flight to keep the Slytherins at bay, turns sharply into a dive, hurtling after Malfoy, who is closing in on a golden glint.

"GO HARRY!" Felicity screams, looping on her broom and pelting down the pitch to block Montague again, one eye still on Harry as he dives, reaching Malfoy, knocking his hand aside and clamping his hand shut around the snitch.

The pitch explodes and Felicity dives lower, thumping into Harry for a hug, closely followed by Wood, who is crying freely into Harry's robes. Fred, George, Alicia and Angelina land soon after, shouting, " _We won! We won the cup!"_

Students stream onto the pitch in a sea of red and the team are hoisted onto the shoulders of the crowd. Percy is jumping up and down, all restraint forgotten as he shouts. Hagrid is there, his coat entirely covered in red rosettes and McGonagall is crying even more hysterically than Oliver, clutching at an enormous Gryffindor flag to dab her tears with.

Felicity's face is stained with tear tracks as they reach Dumbledore in the stands, who hands Oliver the huge Quidditch Cup, who, crying even harder than before, passes it to Harry. He hoists into the air and the crowd erupts. Finally, they'd won.


End file.
